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- Title
Bringing Down the "Big Man": Ethnic Patronage, Election Violence, and Constitution Reform in Kenya.
- Authors
Hussey, Meghan
- Abstract
In late December 2007, the world watched in horror as the East African country of Kenya descended into chaos following the announcement of the results of its presidential election. The riots and violence that took place seemed to fall along tribal lines, and it was feared that the country would be torn apart by ethnic hatred. Why was it that the presidential elections were the spark that ignited this flame of ethnic violence? This paper seeks to explain how the weaknesses in the Kenyan constitution were an underlying cause of election violence in that country. By concentrating a disproportionate amount of power in the office of the president, the Kenyan constitution created a system of ethnic patronage and corruption that led the population to associate the wellbeing of their tribe with their ability to get one of their own into office. Furthermore, this paper will dis-cuss how constitution reform initiated after this most recent wave of violence has attempted to address this problem by creating a balance of power between the executive and the other branches of government. Such constitutional reform movements have tremendous potential to prevent ethnic violence during tran-sitions of power by doing away with the "Big Man" system of patronage and renewing trust of all citizens in the government.
- Subjects
KENYA; EAST Africa; PATRONAGE; PRESIDENTIAL elections; VIOLENCE; STATE constitutions; CORRUPTION; FEDERAL government
- Publication
Hemispheres, 2012, Vol 35, p77
- ISSN
0738-9825
- Publication type
Article