| dc.description.abstract | This study investigated the role of ethnic dimensions in election violence with focus on the 2007-2008 post election violence in Kenya; the main concern being the consistency of ethnic related conflicts, particularly after elections. The study was conceptualized along primordial and instrumentalist theoretical underpinnings aimed at identifying classification schemes and dynamic elements in ethnicity and their relation to conflict. Other core epistemological understandings were enjoined to analyze the broader picture of conflict studies.
The study utilised both primary and secondary sources of information. The study did a thematic critical analysis of studies, commission reports and working papers on ethnicity and conflict in Kenya and beyond. Some of the study'S key findings include that that the 2007/08 post-election violence signals strong ethnic identification and that although Kenyans resist defining themselves in ethnic terms, their actions in making electoral choices show a country where voting patterns skew largely towards ethnic lines. The study also argues that post-election violence underwrote an important point: that Kenya is an ethnically divided society. The study recommends that improvement of ethnic relations besides addressing the wrongs that have been done before is required before any conciliatory efforts are successful. As a result, ethnic diversity should be appreciated if it is well managed to create interdependencies and forge unity of purpose in Kenya. | en_US |
