Peasant-State Relations and the Social Base of Self-Help in Kenya

Bibliographic Data

ID6411255
AuthorsJoel D Barkan (0009-0000-8223-529X, University of Iowa), Frank Holmquist (Hampshire College)
Year1989
Volume41
Issue3
Pages359-380
Publication date1989-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-8871 • E-ISSN: 1086-3338
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/2010504
OpenAlexW2068908534
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited15

Peasant-state relations in developing countries are often a function of the nature and extent of stratification in peasant populations. Where there is a rigid class structure, the prospects for cooperation by members of the peasantry are low, and large landowners tend to ally themselves with the state to exploit the rural poor. Where, on the other hand, the nature of rural stratification is ambiguous, “small” and “middle” peasants are able to organize themselves for collective action and to bargain effectively for state aid to their communities. The hypothesis is confirmed using survey data about the nature of peasant participation in the Harambee selfhelp development movement in rural Kenya. Effective peasant-state bargaining in Kenya has in turn contributed to the legitimacy of the Kenyan political system

Collective action · Development economics · Economic growth · Economic system · Economics · Kenya · Legitimacy · Peasant · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social stratification · State (computer science · Agricultural Innovations and Practices · Agriculture and Rural Development Research · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development

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