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Mediating Post-electoral Violence in Kenya, 2007–2008

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Infrastructures for Peace in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Abstract

Free and fair elections, accompanied by smooth transitions of democratically-elected leaders, constitute one of the key pillars of democracy but elections in Africa have consistently been violent – before, during and after the actual voting. The chapter investigates the Kenyan post-election violence, 2007–2008 and interrogated the role which mediation played in managing the violent consequences. With the aid of in-depth interviews and extensive document analysis, it reveals that electoral violence threatens to become an intractable source of conflict on the African continent, making it increasingly difficult for emerging democracies to consolidate their status as free, fair and legitimate. In addition, although the Kenyan mediation process included the signing of a peace agreement; the deep-rooted causes of electoral violence – corruption, weak institutions, abuse of state resources and the unjust electoral system – were not adequately addressed. Kenya’s electoral challenges can only be resolved through multi-stakeholder inclusion.

Lyn Snodgrass, function, Nelson Mandela University; e-mail: lyn.snodgrass@nmmu.ac.za.

Anne Oyier Achieng, function, Catholic University of Eastern Africa; e-mail: aachieng0106@gmail.com.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

    Lyn Snodgrass

  2. Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

    Anne Oyier Achieng

Authors
  1. Lyn Snodgrass
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  2. Anne Oyier Achieng
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Correspondence to Lyn Snodgrass .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. War, Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Mediel Hove

  2. International Centre of Nonviolence (ICON), Durban University of Technology, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Geoff Harris

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Snodgrass, L., Achieng, A.O. (2019). Mediating Post-electoral Violence in Kenya, 2007–2008. In: Hove, M., Harris, G. (eds) Infrastructures for Peace in Sub-Saharan Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14694-8_11

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