Civil society has become a critical player in African politics. In Kenya, civil society underwent many changes after the transition from KANU to NARC in 2002, and it was severely affected by crisis after the December 2007 elections.
Kenya has embraced a variety of sub-sovereign financing schemes; the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is only the most well-known among them. Beyond CDF explores innovative ideas about how to employ the CDF and other sub-sovereign financing instruments to provide solutions to the various manifestations of social exclusion, poverty and inequality.
Despite much rhetoric about gender equity, the role of women in Kenyan electoral politics remains dismally low – even by standards of the East African region. The sixth edition of "Perspectives on Gender Discourse", emerging from discussions held at HBS Nairobi's "Gender Forum" in the run-up to the last general elections, takes a closer look at women’s political practice in Kenya from diverse perspectives.
In the Shadow of Death: My Trauma, My Experience is a public testimony of what numerous women went through during the post-election violence that engulfed Kenya immediately after the Electoral Commission of Kenya announced the results of the hotly-contested presidential polls of the December 2007 General Election.
A maize shortage has led to an unprecedented price hike in Kenya; government has declared the food insecurity a national disaster. Many Kenyans attribute food price inflation to mismanagement and corruption. But to what extent does it result from actual scarcity? Do food crop producers - many of them small farmers - profit from high food prices?
"Africa speaks up on Climate Change" is an appeal to political actors worldwide to care about the threat climate change poses to Africa. Already, droughts, floods, desertification and other effects of climate change are threatening both nature and livelihoods. The appeal addresses the African public as well: Only the people can apply the necessary pressure to make the necessary changes.
The peaceful transfer of power in Kenya in 2002 still provides a remarkable example of democratic transition in Africa – especially compared to the outbreak of large-scale violence Kenya experienced after the disputed December 2007 general elections.
Today, environmental degradation, social conflict and social strife, poverty, HIV/AIDS, etc. – all of them resulting from or linked to bad governance – have become more of a security concern than the traditional military antagonisms that pitted nations against each other. The main threats to international peace and security are rooted in situations within states rather than between states, and this is especially prevalent in the African context.
