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‘The Kenyas we don't want’: popular thought over constitutional review in Kenya, 2002

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2010

Stephanie Diepeveen
Stephanie Diepeveen
Affiliation:
Jesus College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB4 8BL, UK Email: Stephanie.diepeveen@cantab.net
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Abstract

Evidence of political instability in Kenya emerged through the organised and spontaneous violence following the 2007 elections. Understanding the underlying reasons for popular contestations of power and involvement in violence depends on understanding Kenyans' perceptions of existing and desirable political institutions. By analysing recommendations made in the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission public hearings in each province in 2002, this article explores the viewpoints of those outside high politics in Kenya, teasing out the continuities and divergences in popular thought about political relations in Kenya at the end of the Moi years, and thus providing insights into how Kenyans understand their relationship with those in power, revealing that amidst diverse experiences, disillusionment pervades Kenyans' perceptions of political relations.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 231 - 258
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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Numerous other verbatim reports of constituency public hearings were consulted in preparing this article but are not explicitly cited.

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