Spontaneous Or Premiditated Post Election Violence In Kenya

In December 2007, following a bitterly disputed presidential election, violence rippled out across Kenya, exposing entrenched ethnic divisions fuelled by social and economic exclusion, corruption, and winner-takes-all politics. This book describes the remarkable intervention of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities. Convened by the African Union while violence was still spreading, Kofi Annan, Graça Machel and Benjamin Mkapa were asked to mediate between the parties, create the conditions for peace, and negotiate a political settlement that would tackle the root causes of conflict, mend Kenya’s failing institutions and reduce its profound inequalities. With the advantage of an insiders’ account, Back from the Brink describes how the Panel deployed their diplomatic and peace-making skills to stop the bloodshed, and how, from 2008 to 2013, Annan, Machel and Mkapa remained deeply engaged in Kenya’s efforts to build a durable peace.

This interdisciplinary volume provides a comprehensive and rich analysis of the century-long socio-ecological transformation of Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Major globalised processes of agricultural intensification, biodiversity conservation efforts, and natural-resource extraction have simultaneously manifested themselves in this one location. These processes have roots in the colonial period and have intensified in the past decades, after the establishment of the cut-flower industry and the geothermal-energy industry. The chapters in this volume exemplify the multiple, intertwined socio-environmental crises that consequently have played out in Naivasha in the past and the present, and that continue to shape its future.

The aftermath of recent Kenyan elections has been marred by violence and an apparent crisis in democratic governance, with the negotiated settlement resulting from the 2007 election bringing into sharp focus longstanding problems of state and society. The broader reform process has involved electoral, judicial and security-sector reforms, among others, which in turn revolve around constitutional reforms. Written by a gathering of eminent specialists, this highly original volume interrogates the roots and impact of the 2010 constitution. It explains why reforms were blocked in the past but were successful this time around, and explores the scope for their implementation in the face of continued resistance by powerful groups. In doing so, the book demonstrates that the Kenyan experience carries significance well past its borders, speaking to debates surrounding social justice and national cohesion across the African continent and beyond.

Gender, Ethnicity, and Violence in Kenya’s Transitions to Democracy: States of Violence examines gendered violence in the context of multiparty politics in Kenya, placing it in the historical milieu of colonial rule and its legacies of the ethnicization of both state and society. It offers an extensive account of the ways in which liberal democratic politics have produced violent outcomes for women./span

Collective and group-based pride is currently covered across a number of disciplines including nationalism studies, sociology and social psychology, with little communication between fields. This multidisciplinary collection encourages interdisciplinary research and provides a unique insight into the subject, stemming from a psychological perspective. The collection builds upon insights from collective emotion research to consider the relations between collective pride, shame and guilt as well as emotions of anger, empowerment and defiance. Collective pride is examined in contexts that vary from small groups in relatively peaceful competition to protest movements and large groups in divisive conflicts. In the book collective pride is a complex and positive emotional experience evident in the behaviour of groups, that can lead to negative forms of collective hubris in which other groups are devalued or dominated. Emotions of Collective Pride and Group Identity brings together international contributors to discuss the theory, research and practice surrounding collective pride in relation to other emotions and collective, cultural and national identity. Divided into two parts, part one explores the philosophy and theory behind collective pride and its extremes. Part two draws upon the latest quantitative and qualitative empirical research to focus on specific issues, for example, happiness, national pride and the 2010 World Cup. Topics covered include: - cultural and national pride and identity - positive feelings of unity and solidarity - dynamic relationships between collective pride, guilt and shame - theories of emotions in ritual, symbolic and affective practices - collective pride and collective hubris in organizations - perspectives on national events from young people. This book will appeal to an interdisciplinary audience in the area of affect studies and emotion research including social psychologists, sociologists, historians and anthropologists.

By investigating how the International Criminal Court (ICC) is portrayed in Africa, this book highlights how perceptions of justice are multilayered.

The Routledge Handbook of the Horn of Africa provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary survey of contemporary research related to the Horn of Africa. Situated at the junction of the Sahel-Saharan strip and the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa is growing in global importance due to demographic growth and the strategic importance of the Suez Canal. Divided into sections on authoritarianism and resistance, religion and politics, migration, economic integration, the military, and regimes and liberation, the contributors provide up-to-date, authoritative knowledge on the region in light of contemporary strategic concerns. The handbook investigates how political, economic, and security innovations have been implemented, sometimes with violence, by use of force or by negotiation – including ‘ethnic federalism’ in Ethiopia, independence in Eritrea and South Sudan, integration of the traditional authorities in the (neo)patrimonial administrations, Somalian Islamic Courts, the Sudanese Islamist regime, people’s movements, multilateral operations, and the construction of an architecture for regional peace and security. Accessibly written, this handbook is an essential read for scholars, students, and policy professionals interested in the contemporary politics in the Horn of Africa.