Political Violence in Kenya

Land, Elections, and Claim-Making
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-1-108-48850-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 364 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 231 mm, Gewicht: 635 g

Examining a key puzzle in the study of electoral violence, this study asks how elites organize violence and why ordinary citizens participate. While existing theories of electoral violence emphasize weak institutions, ethnic cleavages, and the strategic use of violence, few specify how the political incentives of elites interact with the interests of ordinary citizens. Providing a new theory of electoral violence, Kathleen F. Klaus analyzes violence as a process of mobilization that requires coordination between elites and ordinary citizens. Drawing on fifteen months of fieldwork in Kenya, including hundreds of interviews and an original survey, Political Violence in Kenya argues that where land shapes livelihood and identity, and tenure institutions are weak, land, and narratives around land, serve as a key device around which elites and citizens coordinate the use of violence. By examining local-level variation during Kenya's 2007–8 post-election violence, Klaus demonstrates how land struggles structure the dynamics of contentious politics and violence.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Klaus, Kathleen

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Wahlen und Volksabstimmungen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gewalt und Diskriminierung: Soziale Aspekte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Militärwesen Verwaltung, Streitkräfte (Militärwesen)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction; Part I. Determinants of Contentious Land Narratives: 2. A theory of land and electoral violence; 3 Historical origins of electoral violence; 4. Land inequality and land narratives: theory and evidence; 5. Narrative formation in the Central Rift Valley; Part II. Determinants of Election Violence: 6. Contentious land narratives and the escalation of violence; 7. A puzzle of non-escalation? Contentious land narratives and stability on Kenya's coast; Part III. Consequences of Electoral Violence: 8. Individual-level causes and effects of election violence; 9. Conclusion.

Über Autor(innen)

Klaus, Kathleen
Kathleen F. Klaus is Assistant Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco where she specializes in African politics, political violence, land rights, and forced migration. Her dissertation won the APSA Best Field Work Award in (2016). She has received research funding from the Social Science Research Council, Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the United States Institute for Peace, and the National Science Foundation, among others.