Citizenship and Ethnicity: An Examination of Two Transition Moments in Kenyan Politics

In some African countries, democratic openings have intensified ethnic competition and led to protracted transitions or outright conflict. In Kenya, I argue, the stalled transition reflects the effects of republican citizenship in ethnic political communities and liberal citizenship in the national...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American political science review 1997-09, Vol.91 (3), p.599-616
Main Author: Ndegwa, Stephen N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citizenship
Communities
Community
Community Relations
Cultural identity
Democracy
Ethnic conflict
Ethnic Groups
Ethnic identity
Ethnicity
ETHNICITY AND ETHNIC GROUPS
Government and politics
Institutions
Kenya
Liberalism
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority & ethnic violence
Multiculturalism
Nation state
Nation states
National characteristics, Kenyan
Political aspects
Political change
Political conflict
Political parties
Political science
POLITICAL STABILITY, INSTABILITY, & CHANGE
Political theory
Politics
Postcolonialism
Power
Racial Identification
Transition
Transitions
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Summary:In some African countries, democratic openings have intensified ethnic competition and led to protracted transitions or outright conflict. In Kenya, I argue, the stalled transition reflects the effects of republican citizenship in ethnic political communities and liberal citizenship in the national political community. This duality in citizenship engenders conflict over democracy—conceived as liberal majoritarian democracy—and results in ethnic coalitions disagreeing over which institutions are appropriate for a multiethnic state. I provide evidence from discourses over institutions from two transition periods in Kenya: at independence and in the recent shift from one-party rule. This study makes two contributions. First, it adds to current citizenship theory, which is largely derived from Western experience, by demonstrating that republican and liberal citizenships are not necessarily compatible and that the modern nation-state is not the only relevant community for forming citizens. Second, it adds to studies of African transitions by highlighting citizenship issues in institutional design with regard to ethnicity in Kenya.
ISSN:0003-0554
1537-5943
DOI:10.2307/2952077