Book contents
- Political Violence in Kenya
- Political Violence in Kenya
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A Theory of Land and Electoral Violence
- 3 Historical Origins of Electoral Violence
- Part I Determinants of Contentious Land Narratives
- Part II Determinants of Election Violence
- 6 Contentious Land Narratives and the Escalation of Violence
- 7 A Puzzle of Nonescalation? Contentious Land Narratives and Stability on Kenya’s Coast
- Part III Consequences of Electoral Violence
- Book part
- References
- Index
6 - Contentious Land Narratives and the Escalation of Violence
from Part II - Determinants of Election Violence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 May 2020
- Political Violence in Kenya
- Political Violence in Kenya
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A Theory of Land and Electoral Violence
- 3 Historical Origins of Electoral Violence
- Part I Determinants of Contentious Land Narratives
- Part II Determinants of Election Violence
- 6 Contentious Land Narratives and the Escalation of Violence
- 7 A Puzzle of Nonescalation? Contentious Land Narratives and Stability on Kenya’s Coast
- Part III Consequences of Electoral Violence
- Book part
- References
- Index
Summary
Chapter 6 analyzes the escalation and production of electoral violence, with a focus on Kenya’s 2007–2008 postelection. The main question asks how land narratives shape the escalation and occurrence of violence. Using a process-tracing approach based on qualitative evidence from three communities in Nakuru County, the chapter demonstrates how land narratives contribute to the production of election violence. I take the reader through four stages in the escalation of electoral violence. These stages include: (1) the mobilization of land narratives, (2) the trigger event, (3) local escalation, and (4) scale-shift. As part of this analysis, the chapter explains how different logics of violence, from preemption, opportunities to alter the status quo, revenge, and desire for material gain play out at these different stages. Broadly, the chapter shows how local land narratives can provide a key discursive tool through which both elites and ordinary civilians establish motives for organizing and engaging in violence.
Keywords
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- Information
- Political Violence in KenyaLand, Elections, and Claim-Making, pp. 173 - 211Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020