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31. Reforming Kenya’s Security Sector: Policing Culture and Youth

Author:
Agatha Ndonga
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:
Between April 15 and May 3, 2019, ICTJ held a number of consultations with Kenyan youth from several informal settlements in Nairobi and Mombasa to reflect on their understanding of security sector reforms and their connection to the ongoing national dialogue process, particularly as it relates to inclusion. This briefing paper presents the key issues of concern raised by these young people and based on them offers recommendations for reforming the policing culture in Kenya.
Topic:
Security, National Security, Youth Culture, Culture, Reform, and Youth
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

32. Transformational Leaders and Social Change: IFP Impacts in Africa and the Middle East

Author:
Judith Kallick and Andrea Brown Murga
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute of International Education
Abstract:
The fourth report from our 10-year tracking study of the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP), Transformational Leaders and Social Change provides important insights into the personal, organizational, community, and societal impacts of IFP alumni in Kenya, Nigeria, Palestine, and South Africa, drawn from the perspectives of 361 IFP alumni and local stakeholders. The results of this study show that the program had a positive impact on participants, with alumni saying that their IFP experience increased their confidence, awareness, self-identity, commitment, leadership, career advancement despite challenges upon re-entry at the end of the fellowship. Some alumni returned to face career barriers endemic to their community and home region, such as high unemployment rates and other labor market challenges. At an organizational level, alumni and community stakeholders said that these organizations now have a stronger work ethic, consistency, transparency, and accountability since alumni returned to their home communities. Stakeholders also said that the alumni they work with are more reliable and committed to getting the job done.
Topic:
Education, Labor Issues, Employment, Leadership, Accountability, Transparency, Unemployment, and Higher Education
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Middle East, South Africa, Palestine, and Nigeria

33. Participatory Action Research for Advancing Youth-Led Peacebuilding in Kenya

Author:
Illana M. Lancaster, Sahlim Charles Amambia, Felix Bivens, Munira Hamisi, Olivia Ogada, Gregory Ochieng Okumu, Nicholas Songora, and Rehema Zaid
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
One-third of today’s generation of youth—those ages ten to twenty-four—live in fragile or conflicted countries and are susceptible to the sway of ideological narratives of violent extremism. Evidence suggests, however, that they also play active and valuable roles as agents of positive and constructive change. Part of a USIP portfolio that engages youth leaders as critical partners, this report documents an initiative undertaken in Kenya in 2017 and 2018 and explores its utility and effectiveness as an approach for youth-led peacebuilding in marginalized communities marked by violent extremism.
Topic:
Education, Governance, Violent Extremism, Democracy, Youth, and Peace
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

34. What Works in Preventing Election Violence: Evidence from Liberia and Kenya

Author:
Inken von Borzyskowski
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Drawing on extensive field research in Kenya and Liberia around the 2017 elections in those countries, this report uses local survey data to evaluate the effectiveness of seven prevention measures thought to reduce the risk of election violence. Its recommendations, directed primarily to the international community but offering utility for regional and national agencies, offer ways to strengthen existing practices or address shortcomings and gaps in programming and enhance their ability to shape environments conducive to peaceful elections.
Topic:
Politics, Elections, Violence, and Peace
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, and Liberia

35. Local Networks for Peace: Lessons from Community-Led Peacebuilding

Author:
Lesley Connolly, Laura Powers, Senzwesihle Ngubane, Patrick Kanyangara, Kessy Ekomo-Soignet, Nicolas Chamat Matallana, Stephen Kirimi, Hasini Haputhanthri, Masana Ndinga-Kanga, and Webster Zambara
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
In recent years, there have been increasing calls to ensure local ownership of peacebuilding design and practice, to take local knowledge fully into account in designing peacebuilding programs and assessing conflicts, and to strive for the meaningful participation of local peacebuilding actors. In the search for new approaches to connect local-level initiatives to international programs and to move local knowledge from the bottom up, community-led peacebuilding networks may have a key role to play. This volume includes case studies of community-led peacebuilding networks in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Kenya, Liberia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe to identify approaches for more inclusive and integrated peacebuilding. These case studies, written by local peacebuilders working in each of the countries, underscore the organizational, political, and financial advantages and risks to operating as part of a broader network. The aim of this report is to enhance understanding among international peacebuilding practitioners and policymakers of peacebuilding network structures, including their comparative advantages and challenges. In doing so, it aims to guide efforts not only to incorporate local knowledge and expertise into international initiatives but also to identify how these efforts can support and magnify local efforts. By better understanding how local peacebuilding networks operate in their communities, the international community can begin to better understand the challenges local organizations face, how to support and strengthen peacebuilding work on the ground, and how such initiatives contribute to building and sustaining peace.
Topic:
Civil Society, Women, Youth, Networks, Peace, and Community
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, South Asia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, and Central African Republic

36. Kenyan Democracy and the Rule of Law

Author:
John Mukum Mbaku
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Certain characteristics and values have the power to make or break a democracy. The supremacy of law, for instance, is the foundation on which democracy is built; it is the heart and soul of a free society and the basis for peaceful coexistence. This holds particularly true in Kenya. To manage the conflicting interests of diverse subcultures, all citizens, regardless of their political, economic, and ethnocultural affiliation, must be subject to the law. Thus, a governing process undergirded by the rule of law is critical for a future of peace and development in Kenya.
Topic:
Development, Government, Democracy, and Rule of Law
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

37. Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Refugee Settings in Kenya and Uganda

Author:
Pearl Karuhanga Atuhaire and Grace Ndirangu
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Women In International Security (WIIS)
Abstract:
The international community has taken a strong stance against conflict-related sexual violence, deeming it a war crime. However, international actors are paying scant attention to sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) in refugee settings. Urban refugee women and girls and those in refugee camps often grapple with SGBV in their countries of asylum, long after they have fled their homes and communities. Our research among refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo currently in Kenya and Uganda has unearthed a high incidence of SGBV against refugee women and girls. Research by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) indicates that one in five refugee and displaced women experience sexual violence. Many of the survivors often have no one to turn to for protection and resort to sex work and other risky means to survive. In this policy brief, we examine the extent of the problem, identify obstacles to progress, and recommend actions governments and humanitarian organizations can take to better protect refugees. In short, we argue that refugee settlements are not safe spaces for refugee women. Humanitarian officials, governments, and the international community must do more to address this problem.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Gender Based Violence, Violence, and Sexual Violence
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, and Africa

38. Kenya Youth and Women's Participation

Author:
The Carter Center
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
This report provides the findings of consultative forums conducted from May through August 2018 with youth and women in eight counties of Kenya on the factors that hinder and promote their political participation.1 The report offers recommendations to support their increased participation in the political sphere.2 In conducting the consultative forums, The Carter Center partnered with Kenyan organizations that work to promote the rights of these special-interest groups. For the youth forums, the partners were the Youth Agenda, Siasa Place, and the National Youth Bunge Association. Partners for the women’s forums were Community Advocacy and Awareness Trust (CRAWN), the Center for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), and the Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA)
Topic:
Gender Issues and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Kenya

39. Regional Director on “The Elections We Want” in Africa

Author:
Rushdi Nackerdien
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Abstract:
As part of its annual report, the Wilson Center Africa Program asked IFES Regional Director for Africa Rushdi Nackerdien to contribute an essay on recent African elections. His piece, “The Elections We Want,” covered 2017 elections in Angola, Rwanda, Liberia, Senegal, the Gambia, and Kenya, and their implications for election practitioners moving forward.
Topic:
Elections, Election watch, and Voting
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Liberia, Senegal, Rwanda, Angola, and Gambia

40. Elections on Trial: The Effective Management of Election Disputes and Violations

Author:
Katherine Ellena, Chad Vickery, and Lisa Reppell
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Abstract:
Mechanisms for election dispute resolution (EDR) must increasingly withstand new forms of sophisticated political and electoral manipulation, most recently illustrated by the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower claims, but previously highlighted by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) as a growing concern around the globe. Hence, the right to receive an effective remedy in the elections context, through the efficient and transparent administration of justice, has become even more fundamental. This involves both the protection of procedural justice (for individuals involved in an election dispute or accused of a violation) and the advancement of open justice (for the public at large, which has a stake in the legitimacy of the election process and outcome). This new IFES research paper, Elections on Trial: The Effective Management of Election Disputes and Violations, outlines the fundamental principles for procedural justice and open justice in election cases. Significant attention is often paid to the independence and impartiality of judges or arbiters making decisions on election cases, while the mechanisms through which these cases are managed and publicized are often overlooked. To address this knowledge gap, IFES conducted preliminary comparative desk research on the case management of election dispute resolution in six countries: Mexico, Tunisia, Kenya, Macedonia, Kosovo, and the Philippines, to better understand how case management processes and platforms can help translate established procedure into actual practice. This research was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development under the Global Elections and Political Transitions Program. Institutions dealing with election disputes and violations face enormous challenges as election litigation increases, and as political actors find new ways to undermine the process or to simply ignore laws and rules in place. It can be an extremely difficult task to balance all the different components of procedural justice and open justice in a way that ultimately ensures a just and transparent process for all litigants. The paper presents comparative information illustrating these principles in practice, discusses case management tools and techniques, and provides recommendations for election management and EDR bodies seeking to strengthen the processes and platforms through which elections disputes and violations are resolved.
Topic:
Law, Elections, Election Interference, and Election Dispute
Political Geography:
Kenya, Philippines, Mexico, and Tunisia