MOI UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

NAME: ELIJAH .O. DOUGLAS

REG NO: BA/97/17

COURSE TITLE: POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY

COURSE CODE: SOC 423

QUESTIONS
1. Either
Show how the key features of elite theory have applied in elite rule and
behavior in Kenya since independence.
OR
Using the main Marxist and Neo-Marxist perspectives, explain the
relevance of these ideas on power, politics and the state in Kenya.
2. Outline the key features of the theories of voting and make a
comparison on the factors that generally dominate political participation,
in particular, the voting behavior in Britain and Kenya.
INTRODUCTION
Elite theory is a theory of the state that seeks to describe and explain power relationships in
contemporary society. The theory posits that a small minority, consisting of members of the
economic elite and policy-planning networks, holds the most power and that this power is
independent of democratic elections. Moreover, the basic characteristics of this theory are that
power is concentrated, the elites are unified, the non-elites are diverse and powerless, elites’
interests are unified due to common backgrounds and positions and the defining characteristic of
power is institutional position.

The below noted information clearly shows how the key features of elite theory have applied in
elite rule and behavior in Kenya since independence.

Politics in Kenya remains vulnerable to ethnic tensions despite its openness and vibrancy, but it
can also be argued that Kenyan politics is becoming increasingly mature. Kenyan politics is
often depicted as a battle between different ethnic groups who can mobilize their supporters with
a click of their fingers. The ability of successive generations of the Kenyatta family to rally the
support of the Kikuyu community and of Odingas to command the loyalty of Luos means that it
is also seen to be dominated by a small number of dynasties. It is argued that the 1978 and 2002
presidential successions in Kenya were orderly, paradoxically, because some of the crucial
political and ethnic organizations were fragmented to the extent that they created conditions of
great uncertainty for the elite. In this context, the rule of law was upheld as a last ditch strategy
to mitigate uncertainties in the face of rampant fragmentation. This shows that ultimately elite
fragmentation can generate political stability provided that there is enough at stake for the elites.

The long period of relative stability in the country from the 1970s to the early 1990s was
founded on the willingness of members of the elite from different ethnic groups to put aside their
differences and use their influence to demobilize movements and militias that might otherwise
have threatened the status quo.They did so to protect the highly unequal political and economic
system on which their own privileged positions depend. It is when this elite pact ruptures, as it
did around the 2007 general elections, that violence and unrest come to the fore.

At Independence, the new political elites of Kenya inherited a state that was strong and viable
enough to emerge as the centerpiece of the dominant coalition. The colonial state bestowed the
new elites with the tools of economic coercion such as labour repression that had been applied to
facilitate settler accumulation. On the political front, the colonial state had already created and
deployed the instrument of large-scale political and military coercion to quash the Mau-Mau
rebellion. Therefore, the post-colonial Kenyan government inherited the foundations of a
relatively consolidated natural state from the colonial system.
The political consequences of Economic Troubles

During his reign, Moi expanded dramatically a series of punitive policies begun by the British
colonial government against thousands of Nairobi street traders (especially women).Kenyan
governments have generally had a hostile relationship with street and market traders,

Characterized by failed policies of requiring licenses and insufficient provision of space for them
to sell legally. Their trade had long fed Nairobi with staple commodities and prepared foods,
particularly in the 1990s, but they stood in the way of Moi’s approach to economic development
(and enrichment of himself and other elites through corruption).The troubles of these traders
were emblematic of the problems caused by the governments, both colonial and independent for
many ordinary Kenyans.

In Kenya, colonialism and the present dominance of predatory multinational capital have taught
locals that government exists to enrich those who govern. Kenya was and is what has been called
a colony of exploitation, in this case primarily of agricultural products rather than minerals. The
colonial government is a dominant policy goal that was to generate profits for settlers from
export products. Colonial-era white settlers attempted, not always successfully, to achieve a high
standard of living by using the mechanisms of head taxes, price controls that dictated lower
prices for African-produced than white-supervised agricultural products, lower wages for
Kenyan than white labor, forced labor and forced cultivation of certain crops.

Bribes at every level. From those collected from small business owners by impecunious police
whose government pay has been siphoned off by corrupt officials up the line, to those paid by the
middle class to obtain licenses of some kind, to those paid by international
contractors/corporations in order to be treated preferentially in Kenyan business contracts have
also impeded the achievement of a stable prosperous economy.

Indeed, governmental corruption has contributed directly to the current breakdown of order in
Kenya. With funds diverted to further enrich the rulers, the government has left citizens at the
mercy of all forms of violence. Several years ago in northern Kenya there was a cross-border
attack from Ethiopia caused by intra-clan camel and cattle rustling that resembled strongly the
better publicized Darfur raids. The feud resulted in a massacre in which an Ethiopian branch of a
clan related to those attacked, destroyed a Kenyan village and killing all of its inhabitants. One of
the victims had the presence of mind to call the police on his cell phone, but it took three hours
for the police to arrive because they did not have a vehicle. Money for such things usually
disappears before reaching those whose job it is to keep order.
Colonialism and the Making of Tribes

The severe economic and social problems facing the Kenyan population is caused majorly by
political corruption and exploitation. Kenya remains a country divided into different ethnic
communities but all suffer from the common history of an economic situation created by
colonialism and neo-colonialism, one of whose manifestations is corruption.

Fast forward to post-independence and contemporary Kenya when Kenyatta followed ethnic
preferences in the redistribution of land that took place after independence whereby, much of the
land went to small Kikuyu elite while some took over highland plantations and continued to
employ locals as labor. President Moi in particular, during his long reign shamelessly created,
manipulated and advertised tribal loyalties in an effort to control the population and enrich
certain powerful social groups.

Tribalism was an effective way to keep power but it did not necessarily reflect Kenyan society.
The enrichment brought by government corruption has continued to consolidate the power of
small landholding elite. However, this elite is now more markedly mixed ethnically because of
Moi’s policies of privileging Kalenjin and others.

Violence

Violence has long played a role in Kenyan politics and society. President Moi, for example,
deliberately organized attacks by hired thugs on his enemies to convince Westerners that he was
the only one capable of keeping order in Kenya. Under his regime, in which the current
President, Mwai Kibaki was the vice president most of the government ministers pursued corrupt
careers that persist under Kibaki.Kenyan elections have been notoriously corrupt and have
involved to a greater or lesser extent attacks by thugs on voters in every election. Toward the end
of his regime, Moi used them as well as the police to attack opposition leaders in the yearly
protests in favor of multi-party government on Saba-Saba, July 7th.

CONCLUSION

The above detailed information clearly shows how key features of elite theory have applied in
elite rule and behavior in Kenya since independence.

REFERENCES

Angelique Haugerud, The culture of politics in modern Kenya: Cambridge University Press,
1993.

Anyang Nyong’o, ‘State and society in Kenya: The disintegration of the nationalist coalitions
and the rise of presidential authoritarianism’, African Affairs (1989)
INTRODUCTION

Voting theory is the mathematical treatment of the process by which democratic societies or
groups resolve the many and conflicting opinions of the group into a single choice of the group.
A vote is an expression of a voter’s preference about the outcome of an election.

Voting is the main form of political participation in liberal democratic societies. From a
sociological perspective, the study of voting behavior focuses primarily on explaining who votes
and how they vote. The analysis of voting patterns invariably emphasizes on the determinants of
why people vote as they do and how they arrive at the decisions they make. A number of key
features of theories of voting are as follows;

 Structural approach
 Ecological approach
 social-psychological approach
 Rational-choice approach
 Radical approach

Structural approach

This approach concentrates on the relationship between individual and social structure.Moreover,
it examines the effects of such variables as social class, language, nationalism, religion and rural-
urban contrasts on voting. This approach has placed much emphasis on the party identification
and social class.

Ecological approach

This approach relates voting patterns to the characteristic features of a geographical area like
ward, constituency, state etc.

Social-psychological approach

This approach relates voting decisions to the voter’s psychological predispositions or attitudes,
for example, his or her party identification, attitudes to candidates and the like.

Rational-choice approach

This approach argues that voting is governed less by group loyalties and class position than by
individual’s rational calculations of self-interest. This approach attempts to explain voting
behavior as the outcome of a series of instrumental cost-benefit calculations by the
individual.Moreover, this approach of voting sees the voter as thinking individual who is able to
take a view on political issues and votes accordingly. It rejects the notion that voting behavior is
largely determined by class affiliation or class socialization.
Radical approach

This approach regards class-based model as outdated and insufficient to explain contemporary
developments and consider the rational-choice model as inadequate.

Below is noted information which explains broadly on various factors which generally dominate
political participation, in particular, the voting behavior in Britain and Kenya.

Voting behavior in Britain

Class

Traditionally, social class has been seen as significant and was attributed to partisan politics. In
the past, the Labour Party appealed to working-class voters whose rights it defended. The
Conservative Party had more ties with the middle and upper classes especially with the rise of
capitalism and post-industrialisation which led to the growth of the middle classes. However, we
have seen both class dealignment and partisan dealignment in recent times.

Ethnicity

Another influence has been ethnicity.Traditionally, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME)
groups have been more inclined to vote Labour.However, this pattern is starting to shift and
some groups are starting to demonstrate a shift towards the Conservatives, particularly in the
2015 election. That said, the majority of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups voted
Labour in the 2017 election.Moreover, Since the Brexit referendum it appears the Conservatives
have alienated Black, Asian and minority ethnic voters.

Geography

Different regions in the country have been traditionally characterised by different voting
behaviour.This is another factor that can be hard to disassociate from class. However, there do
seem to still be partisan differences by region and aside from a few surprises namely Kensington
and Canterbury in the 2017 election, regions broadly voted along expected lines.

Gender

Gender is not as stark a difference, with both Labour and Conservative seeing a fairly even
gender split in their voters. It is important to recognize that some voting behavior may be more
nuanced than simply which party a group votes for. For example, it might be that different
groups vote differently on specific issues. A noticeable trend among women voters is that the
gender of the party leader was a lot less significant in the 2017 election than it was in 1979 or
1983.

Voting behavior in Kenya

Ethnicity

Ethnicity plays a big role in who makes it to the presidency. Kenya is home to more than 40
tribes and competition foe political seats has never been more serious with most Kenyans getting
behind candidates from their ethnic groups.Moreover,to win the presidency, a candidate must
win more than 50 per cent and no single tribe has that number on its own. Candidates form tribal
alliances to get themselves and their ethnic group a seat at the top table.Although, tribal
coalitions are also easily broken up if a better offer comes along.

Media

Media plays an important role in influencing political participation in Kenya. The media
contributed to civil education in at least three ways.First,they spread information and sensitized
the public about their political and civil rights as well as civic duties including the need to
contest elections and vote a party of their choice to power.Second,the media exposed the
weaknesses and failures of the incumbent party and enabled the electorate to make judgments
about the performance of their government.Finally,the media helped foster the growth of a
discursive realm in which issues of national and local concerns were debated in an open and free
manner.

Gender

Women’s full and effective political participation is a matter of human rights, inclusive growth
and sustainable development. The active participation of women on equal terms with men at all
levels of decision-making and political involvement is essential to the achievement of equality,
sustainable development, peace and democracy and the inclusion of their perspectives and
experiences into decision-making processes. Despite this, a large number of women do not take
part in political participation due to the political environment and conditions that are often
unfriendly or even hostile as compared to men hence greatly affecting voters turn out.

CONCLUSION

The above information broadly explains in detail on factors that generally dominate political
participation in relation to voting behavior in Britain and Kenya.
REFERENCES

Angelique Haugerud, The culture of politics in modern Kenya (Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1993).

Robert H. Bates and Barry R.Weingast, ‘the politics of interpretation: Rationality, culture and
transition’, Politics and society (1998).