Kenya's Uncertain Democracy: The Electoral Crisis of 2008

by Peter Kagwanja (Editor), Roger Southall (Editor)

Overview

The plunging of Kenya, until recently a centre of stability and growth in East Africa, into political and economic uncertainty following the general election of December 2007 is regarded as a major cause for global and African concern. It is widely accepted that the elections were deeply flawed, and that there was electoral malfeasance by all the major players. President Kibaki's rapid declaration of victory in the face of a heavily disputed election and his determination to hold on to the levers of state power precipitated a deadly crisis, communal violence and economic decline. A power-sharing deal between Kibaki and Opposition leader, Raila Odinga signed in February seems to be holding, but Kenya ranks among the worlds’ growing number of democracies at-risk.

This book takes a new look at the 2007 election, the post-election crisis, the underlying interaction of ethnicity, class and political power; forced displacement, the role of international forces; and the country’s power-sharing arrangement. The study will draw upon the expertise of a variety of leading experts on Kenya, and will be edited by Peter Kagwanja and Roger Southall. The overall project was based on a workshop in Nairobi on 6-7 December 2008.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Contemporary African Studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317988915
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/13/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Peter Kagwanja is President of the Africa Policy Institute and research fellow at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Roger Southall is Editor of the Journal of Contemporary African Studies and Professor of Sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Table of Contents

Preface 1. Introduction: Kenya - A Democracy in Retreat? Peter Kagwanja and Roger Southall 2. ‘Poll Poison’?: Politicians and Polling in the 2007 Kenya Election Thomas P. Wolf 3. Weapons of Mass Destruction: Land, Ethnicity and the 2007 Elections in Kenya Marcel Rutten and Sam Owuor 4. The Legacy of the White Highlands: Land Rights, Ethnicity and the post-2007 Election Violence in Kenya Karuti Kanyinga 5. The Politics of Displacement in Multiparty Kenya Prisca Mbura Kamungi 6. Courting Genocide: Populism, Ethno-Nationalism and the Informalisation of Violence in Kenya’s 2008 post-Election Crisis Peter Kagwanja 7. Donor Responses to the 2008 Kenyan Crisis: Finally Getting it Right? Stephen Brown 8. African Mediation of the Kenyan post-2007 Election Crisis Monica Kathina Juma 9. Regionalism and Conflict Resolution: Lessons from the Kenyan Crisis Gilbert M. Khadiagala 10. Alternatives for Electoral Reform: Lessons from Southern Africa Roger Southall