global-journal-of-human-social-science-f-political-science Global Journal of Human-Social Science - F: Political Science 0975-587X 2249-460X Global Journals Publishing Group Incorporated 115786 Kenya: Explaining State Fragility through the Absence of an Imperial Indegenous State Culture MaundeniZibani SOUTH AFRICA, University of Botswana 15 01 2017 17 F4

That the Kenyan state is fragile in political terms is not in doubt. Kenya experiences high levels of political and ethnic rivalry, high possibilities of electoral violence, high levels of fraud, and a general failure to deliver quality services (including security) to the wider society. But, why has Kenya proved to be such a fragile country politically? In other words, what causes Kenya’s state fragility? This paper argues that Kenya’s fragility is primarily linked to the fact that the dominant group – the Kikuyu (Kenya’s economic and political powerhouse) – was historically inward looking, inserted itself as an equal to all other ethnic groups, and was exclusionist in its social culture. It also argues that the state cultures of the other ethnic groups were not any better in terms of aiding state building. This paper on Kenya’s political fragility looks at the pre-colonial state cultures of the main ethnic groups, tracing their continuities and discontinuities, and showing how they worked against the building of a coherent and stable state.

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That the Kenyan state is fragile in political terms is not in doubt. Kenya experiences high levels of political and ethnic rivalry, high possibilities of electoral violence, high levels of fraud, and a general failure to deliver quality services (including security) to the wider society. But, why has Kenya proved to be such a fragile country politically? In other words, what causes Kenya’s state fragility? This paper argues that Kenya’s fragility is primarily linked to the fact that the dominant group – the Kikuyu (Kenya’s economic and political powerhouse) – was historically inward looking, inserted itself as an equal to all other ethnic groups, and was exclusionist in its social culture. It also argues that the state cultures of the other ethnic groups were not any better in terms of aiding state building. This paper on Kenya’s political fragility looks at the pre-colonial state cultures of the main ethnic groups, tracing their continuities and discontinuities, and showing how they worked against the building of a coherent and stable state.