Zed Books Violence in African Elections: Between Democracy and Big Man Politics (Africa Now)

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Violence in African ElectionsBetween Democracy and Big Man PoliticsBy Mimmi Soderberg Kovacs, Jesper BjarnesenZed Books LtdCopyright © 2018 Zed BooksAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-78699-229-1ContentsAbbreviations, ix, Acknowledgements, xiii, Introduction: The everyday politics of electoral violence in Africa violence in Kenya MIMMI SODERBERG KOVACS, 1, 1 Ethnic politics and elite competition: the roots of electoral HANNE FJELDE AND KRISTINE HÖGLUND, 27, 2 Wielding the stick again: the rise and fall and rise of state violence during presidential elections in Uganda ANDERS SJÖGREN, 47, 3 Land conflict and electoral violence in Côte d'Ivoire: a micro-level analysis MATTHEW I. MITCHELL, 67, 4 The geography of violence in Burundi's 2015 elections WILLY NINDORERA AND JESPER BJARNESEN, 87, 5 Competition, uncertainty and violence in Sierra Leone's swing district IBRAHIM BANGURA AND MIMMI SÖDERBERG KOVACS, 114, 6 Ex-militants and electoral violence in Nigeria's Niger Delta TARILA MARCLINT EBIEDE, 135, 7 The winner takes it all: post-war rebel networks, Big Man politics, and the threat of violence in the 2011 Liberian elections MARIAM BJARNESEN, 156, 8 Parasitic politics: violence, deception and change in Kenya's electoral politics JACOB RASMUSSEN, 176, 9 Eclectic ties and election touts: Chipangano's cyclic governance agenda in Mbare, Zimbabwe TARIRO MUTONGWIZO, 197, 10 Patronage politics and electoral violence in Lagos, Nigeria: understanding the micro-level dynamics DANIEL E. AGBIBOA, 215, 11 'Once they all pick their guns you can have your way': campaigning and talking about violence in northern Ghana AFRA SCHMITZ, 233, Conclusion: Beyond democracy and Big Man politics JESPER BJARNESEN AND MIMMI SÖDERBERG KOVACS, 250, About the contributors, 263, Index, 264, CHAPTER 1Ethnic politics and elite competition: the roots of electoral violence in KenyaHanne Fjelde and Kristine HoglundIntroductionIn the early 1990s, Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi succumbed to domestic and international pressure to democratise after a long period of single-party rule. In the face of multiparty elections, Moi 'repeatedly argued that the legalization of opposition parties would usher in tribal conflict and destroy national unity' (Barkan 1993: 90). Indeed, the 1992 elections were fraught with violence resulting in the death of at least 1,500 people, orchestrated by Moi in order to disenfranchise opposition supporters. Moreover, violence and displacements at varying levels have accompanied all elections in Kenya since the reintroduction of multiparty elections in the 1990s, and there has been violent and repressive action by the government against political opponents.The literature on electoral violence in Africa generally, and Kenya specifically, provides important insights to understand the prevalence of such violence. Studies have highlighted, for example, how the precariousness of the institutional framework surrounding elections and the stakes of the electoral contest may precipitate violent manipulation of electoral competition (cf. Hoglund 2009; Salehyan and Linebarger 2015). The existing scholarship on Kenya has also emphasised the role of powerful elite incentives for mobilising on divisive ethnic issues. While some studies place ethnicity at the very core of an explanation of Kenya's violent electoral history (e.g. Burchard 2015), others claim that ethnicity is not the key factor in determining violent electoral outcomes, but rather it interacts with powerful influences such as perceptions of a flawed electoral process (e.g. Dercon and Gutierrez-Romero 2012) or resource scarcity (e.g. Kahl 1998). Our analysis links up with these perspectives to provide a more historically rooted approach to understanding how and why ethnic divisions have become a powerful tool for violent electoral mobilisation in Kenya. We thereby build on the rich scholarship on Kenyan politics that points to the impor