Civil Society and the Politics of Democratization

Abstract

As noted in Chap. 20, Kenya gained independence in 1963 under a multiparty system, with two major political parties and a bicameral legislature at the national level. Within the first decade of independence, however, political consolidation saw the merger of the two houses of parliament and the merger of the two political parties, KADU and KANU, resulting in a de facto one-party state between 1969 and 1982. In 1982, the country became a de jure one-party state until 1992 when, through concerted efforts by internal and external forces, the country returned to multiparty politics. The struggles for politics continued until 2010, when a new progressive constitution was promulgated, ushering in a new, more democratic dispensation in the country. This period has come to be known as the “Second Liberation,” a period of sustained political activism for democratization, when a plethora of social formations, defined as civil society organizations (CSOs) emerged in the political arena to help push the agenda of political reform. As Harbeson (1994: 1) and Nasong’o (2014: 98) wrote then, “Today, grassroots movements have arisen in nearly every sub-Saharan country to remove autocratic, repressive governments and empower African peoples to reclaim control over their political destinies.”