The Oxford Handbook of Kenyan Politics

by Cheeseman, Nic; Kanyinga, Karuti; Lynch, Gabrielle

• ISBN13: 9780191853227
• ISBN10: 0191853224
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2020-04-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Kenya is one of the most politically dynamic and influential countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Today, it is known in equal measure as a country that has experienced great highs and tragic lows. In the 1960s and 1970s, Kenya was seen as a ''success story" of development in the periphery, and also led the way in terms of democratic breakthroughs in 2010 when a new constitution devolved power and placed new constraints on the president. However, the country has also made international headlines for the kind of political instability that occurs when electoral violence is expressed along ethnic lines, such as during the "Kenya crisis" of 2007/08 when over 1,000 people lost their lives and almost 700,000 were displaced. The Oxford Handbook of Kenyan Politics explains these developments and many more, drawing together 50 specially commissioned chapters by leading researchers. The chapters they have contributed address a range of essential topics including the legacy of colonial rule, ethnicity, land politics, devolution, the constitution, elections, democracy, foreign aid, the informal economy, civil society, human rights, the International Criminal Court, the growing influence of China, economic policy, electoral violence, and the impact of mobile phone technology. In addition to covering some of the most important debates about Kenyan politics, the volume provides an insightful overview of Kenyan history from 1930 to the present day and features a set of chapters that review the impact of devolution on regional politics in every part of the country.

Author Biography

Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy and International Development, University of Birmingham,Karuti Kanyinga, Professor of Development Studies, University of Nairobi,Gabrielle Lynch, Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Warwick

Nic Cheeseman is Professor of Democracy, University of Birmingham and the former Director of the African Studies Centre, Oxford University. He mainly works on democracy, elections, and development and has conducted fieldwork in a range of African countries. His articles have won a number of prizes including the GIGA award for the best article in Comparative Area Studies (2013) and the Frank Cass Award for the best article in Democratization (2015). He is also the author or editor of ten books. He is the founding editor of the Oxford Encyclopaedia of African Politics, and an advisor and writer for Kofi Annan's African Progress Panel. In recognition of this academic and public contribution, the Political Studies Association of the UK awarded him the prestigious Joni Lovenduski Prize for outstanding professional achievement by a midcareer scholar in 2019. His analysis has appeared in the Economist, Le Monde, NY Times, BBC, amongst others. He writes a regular column for the Mail & Guardian.


Gabrielle Lynch is Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Warwick. Her research on Kenya has focused on ethnic identity and politics, elections and democratisation, and transitional justice. She is the author or co-editor of several books and more than 30 articles and book chapters. She is deputy chair of the Review of African Political Economy editorial working group, a member of Democratization's editorial board and Vice-President/Research of the British Institute of Eastern Africa. Gabrielle wrote a twice monthly column for the Saturday Nation (the Saturday edition of Kenya's leading national newspaper) from April 2014 to March 2018 when she stood down alongside 7 other independent columnists in protest at "the loss of editorial independence and media freedom" at the Nation Media Group. From November 2015 to January 2017 she also wrote a twice monthly column for The East African (the main regional newspaper).


Karuti Kanyinga is Research Professor of Development Studies, University of Nairobi where he is the current Director of the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), and serves in the Board of Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR). He has published extensively and is renowned for his contributions to scholarship and knowledge on governance and development in Kenya and Africa in general. He has written extensively on ethnicity and inequality; civil society and development, politics of land rights, and political change. In addition to contribution to scholarship, Karuti served as an advisor to the Kofi Annan Panel of Eminent African Personalities where he advised on monitoring the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process (KNDR). He is a frequent commentator on governance and political development in Kenya and Africa in general. He wrote a regular column in Kenya's largest-circulation newspaper, Sunday Nation, and continues to make commentaries on major events.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. The political economy of Kenya: Community, clientelism, and class, Nic Cheeseman, Karuti Kanyinga, and Gabrielle Lynch
Part I - The struggle for democracy
2. Colonial rule and the rise of African politics (1930-1964), Derek R. Peterson
3. Jomo Kenyatta and the creation of the Kenyan state (1963-1978, David W. Throup
4. Daniel arap Moi and one-party rule (1978-1991), David W. Throup
5. The limits of multipartyism (1992-2005), Raymond Muhula
6. Civil conflict, power sharing, truth and reconciliation (2005-2013), James D. Long
7. The 2013 elections and the peace narrative (2013-2015), Collins Odote
8. The 2017 elections and electoral (in)justice (2015-2017), Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle
Part II - Identity politics
9. Race and ethnicity in colonial Kenya, John Lonsdale
10. The political role of Christian churches, Gregory Deacon
11. The political role of Islam, Ngala Chome
12. Gender mainstreaming and the campaign for equality, Winnie Mitullah
13. Youth and masculinity, Naomi van Stapele
14. Sexual minority rights and activism, Sini Hassinen
Part III - Political institutions
15. Constitutions and constitutionalism, Yash Ghai
16. The politics of the Provincial Administration, Walter O. Oyugi and Jimmy O. Ochieng
17. The rise and fall of the legislature, Ken Opalo
18. Devolution and county government, Michelle D'Arcy
Part IV - Civil society, the media and political culture
19. Satire, social media, and cultures of resistance, Angelique Haugerud, Meghan Ference, and Dillon J. Mahoney
20. The role of traditional media, Denis Galava
21. Chiefs, elders, and traditional authority, Michelle Osborn
22. Civil society and the state, Geoffrey Lugano
23. The science, suspicion and sustainability of opinion polls, Thomas P. Wolf
Part V - Political parties and strategies of mobilisation
24. High stakes ethnic politics, Susanne D. Mueller
25. The weaknesses of political parties, Adams Oloo
26. Violence as an election strategy, Sarah Jenkins
Part VI - Law and (dis)order
27. The protection and promotion of human rights, Irina Ichim
28. Land rights and the rule of law, Ambreena Manji
29. Post-colonial state-military relations, Musambayi Katumanga
30. Police, reform, and counter-terrorism, Abduallahi Boru Halakhe
31. Gangs and vigilantism, Jacob Rasmussen
Part VII - The political economy of development
32. The lessons and legacies of the "Kenya debate'', John W. Harbeson and Frank Holmquist
33. The financial sector, Radha Upadhyaya and Edoardo Totolo
34. The local politics of resource distribution, Mai Hassan
35. Mobile technology and development, Bitange Ndemo and Dennis Aiko
36. NGOs and public service provision, Jennifer N. Brass
37. The informal economy and its relationship with the state, Jane N.O. Khayesi
Part VIII - Kenya and the world
38. The political economy of foreign aid to Kenya, Michael Chege
39. International relations and the International Criminal Court, Njoki Wamai
40. Kenya's war in Somalia, David M. Anderson
41. Foreign policy and regional relations, L. Muthoni Wanyeki
42. The rise of China in Kenya's foreign relations, Samuel M. Makinda
Part IX - Regional politics in the time of devolution
43. Nyanza: The Odinga dynasty and beyond, Patrick O. Asingo
44. Nairobi: The politics of the capital, Peris S. Jones
45. Rift Valley: The struggle for supremacy, Alex Dyzenhaus
46. North Eastern: From the periphery to the center, Hassan H. Kochore
47. Central: Self-sufficiency in a local arena, Dominic Burbidge and Thomas Raji
48. Western: Negotiating political heterogeneity, Frederick O. Wanyama
49. Eastern: The dynamics of "bridesmaid politics", Mumo Nzau
50. The Coast: An elusive political bloc, Hannah Waddilove