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Title:Dire consequences or empty threats? Western pressure for peace, justice and democracy in Kenya
Authors:Brown, StephenISNI
Raddatz, Rosalind
Year:2014
Periodical:Journal of Eastern African Studies (ISSN 1753-1063)
Volume:8
Issue:1
Pages:43-62
Language:English
Geographic term:Kenya
Subjects:development cooperation
aid agencies
political change
elections
2010-2019
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17531055.2013.869008
Abstract:This paper examines Western countries' pressure - or lack thereof - for peace, justice and democracy in Kenya. It analyzes the period since the 2008 National Accord, which defused the 2007-08 post-election crisis, focusing on the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of the 2013 elections. The paper draws extensively on interviews conducted in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013 with Western officials based in Nairobi, as well as informed Kenyans. It argues, first, that recent Western pressure is the latest iteration of a consistent pattern of donors not enforcing stated conditions for future support, causing diminishing returns. Second, donors not only have been reluctant to use potential leverage over the Kenyan government, but also have consistently underestimated it and erred by publicly threatening to use it only at the least strategic moment and not when it could have been most effective. Third, Western officials have continued to make short-term decisions favoring stability or peace that actually undermine basic principles of democracy and justice. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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