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
- 4 Land Inequality and Land Narratives: Theory and Evidence
- 5 Narrative Formation in the Central Rift Valley
- Part II Determinants of Election Violence
- Part III Consequences of Electoral Violence
- Book part
- References
- Index
5 - Narrative Formation in the Central Rift Valley
from Part I - Determinants of Contentious Land Narratives
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
- 4 Land Inequality and Land Narratives: Theory and Evidence
- 5 Narrative Formation in the Central Rift Valley
- Part II Determinants of Election Violence
- Part III Consequences of Electoral Violence
- Book part
- References
- Index
Summary
Chapter 5 asks why contentious land narratives emerge between two ethnically distinct communities in one area, but not another nearby area. To examine this question, the chapter draws on an in-depth case comparison between two sets of farming communities in Nakuru County, in Kenya’s Rift Valley region. It argues that where two neighboring ethnic communities gain access to land through distinct processes, group members from both sides are likely to challenge the legitimacy of the other groups’ land claims. Yet where both communities acquire land through a similar process, group members are less likely to challenge the claims of the other, and contentious narratives are far less salient. The chapter demonstrates that contentious land narratives between ethnic groups are not the inevitable outcomes of ethnic rivalry but are instead endogenous to the local institutional context governing the provision of land rights.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Political Violence in KenyaLand, Elections, and Claim-Making, pp. 140 - 170Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020