The Crisis in Kenya

The article examines the key reasons why Kenya, which had avoided the major conflicts that afflict Africa and considered as one of Africa’s more stable States, so quickly descended into violence and anarchy “in the typical African way” after disputed elections in 2007. While many were shocked that a country that has held regular elections since independence in 1963 and with the trappings of a functional democracy—a parliament, a judiciary and a vibrant civil society—could tread the path of failed states, this article argues that democracy is not just about holding elections but the mechanics and procedures of accountability in between elections. The article thus examines the deadly consequences of impunity, unchecked corruption, and woefully bad governance in Kenya, and how all these factors combine to feed and fuel inequality and injustice. In seeking answers to what went wrong in Kenya the article provides practical steps to making democracy work in the context of Kenya’s long search for equilibrium

Development economics · Economics · Political science · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Development and Aid

• The state of public discourse in Kenya’s post-Moi era

  Mwangi Chege•Canadian Journal of African…•2017

  Añadir item

• The Priority of Conflict Deterrence and the Role of the International Criminal Court in Kenya’s Post-Electoral Violence 2007–2008 and 2013

  Open Access•Claudio Corradetti•Human Rights Review•2015

  Añadir item

• Kenya's corruption problem

  K R Hope•Commonwealth and Comparative…•2014

  Añadir item

• Africa's Informal Power-Sharing and the Prospects for Peace

  Ian S Spears•Civil Wars•2013

  Añadir item

• Free and fair? Citizens’ assessments of the 2013 general election in Kenya

  Open Access•Seema Shah, Seema Kiran Shah•Review of African Political Economy•2015

  Añadir item

• Donor responses to the 2008 Kenyan crisis

  Brown, Stephen Brown•Journal of Contemporary African…•2009

  Añadir item

• The Era of Electoral Authoritarianism

  Open Access•Yonatan L Morse•World Politics•2012

  Añadir item

• Can Democratic Principles Protect High Courts from Partisan Backlash? Public Reactions to the Kenyan Supreme Court's Role in the 2017 Election Crisis

  Open Access•Brandon L Bartels, Jeremy Horowitz et al.•American Journal of Political…•2023

  Añadir item

• The new research agenda studying electoral integrity

  P Norris•Electoral Studies•2013

  Añadir item

• New Start or False Start? The ICC and Electoral Violence in Kenya

  Open Access•Sabine Höhn•Development and Change•2014

  Añadir item