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

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• 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

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• Kenya's corruption problem

  K R Hope•Commonwealth and Comparative…•2014

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

  Ian S Spears•Civil Wars•2013

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• 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

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• Donor responses to the 2008 Kenyan crisis

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

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• The Era of Electoral Authoritarianism

  Open Access•Yonatan L Morse•World Politics•2012

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• 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

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• The new research agenda studying electoral integrity

  P Norris•Electoral Studies•2013

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

  Open Access•Sabine Höhn•Development and Change•2014

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