Citizenship and ethnicity : an examination of two transition moments in Kenyan politics
By: NDEGWA, Stephen N
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ArticlePublisher: New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, September 1997American Political Science Review 91, 3, p. 599-616Abstract: The recent political transition in Kenya provoked a debate over which institutions are appropriate to govern a multiethnic democracy. This continuing debate reflects the enduring and problematic relevance of ethnicity to democratic politics there and elsewhere in Africa (Glickman 1995, Ottaway 1994).(1) Yet, few studies of recent political change in Africa have focused on the discourse over democratic institutions, especially with regard to balancing competing ethnic interests (e.g., Diamond 1987, Diamond and Plattner 1994, Lemarchand 1995). This lacuna contrasts with work on the transition from colonial rule - the initial period of structuring democratic institutions - in which questions of ethnic balance of power featured prominently in constitutional negotiations and in political practice (see, especially, Rothchild 1964, 1968a and b, 1973; see also Bates 1974, Enloe 1973, Melson and Wolpe 1970, Olorunsola 1972, van den Berghe 1975, and Young 1976). One shortcoming of present studies is the typical conclusion reached when the transition to liberal majoritarian democracy flounders. For instance, in countries where political liberalization has been especially protracted (e.g., Kenya, Cameroon, Togo) or has led to state instability or atrophy (e.g., Burundi, Nigeria), analysts have been content to catalog the incumbents as stubborn anti-democrats or dictators harking on primordial ethnic attachments to maintain power.
The recent political transition in Kenya provoked a debate over which institutions are appropriate to govern a multiethnic democracy. This continuing debate reflects the enduring and problematic relevance of ethnicity to democratic politics there and elsewhere in Africa (Glickman 1995, Ottaway 1994).(1) Yet, few studies of recent political change in Africa have focused on the discourse over democratic institutions, especially with regard to balancing competing ethnic interests (e.g., Diamond 1987, Diamond and Plattner 1994, Lemarchand 1995). This lacuna contrasts with work on the transition from colonial rule - the initial period of structuring democratic institutions - in which questions of ethnic balance of power featured prominently in constitutional negotiations and in political practice (see, especially, Rothchild 1964, 1968a and b, 1973; see also Bates 1974, Enloe 1973, Melson and Wolpe 1970, Olorunsola 1972, van den Berghe 1975, and Young 1976). One shortcoming of present studies is the typical conclusion reached when the transition to liberal majoritarian democracy flounders. For instance, in countries where political liberalization has been especially protracted (e.g., Kenya, Cameroon, Togo) or has led to state instability or atrophy (e.g., Burundi, Nigeria), analysts have been content to catalog the incumbents as stubborn anti-democrats or dictators harking on primordial ethnic attachments to maintain power.
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