Political Party Alliance Building in Kenya, 1945-2013
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Date
2024-10
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
This study undertook a historical analysis on political party alliance building in Kenya 1945-2013.The study objectives were to trace the historical background on the political party formations in Kenya. Secondly, it sought to interrogate the nature of political party alliances before Multipartism was entrenched in Kenya in the 1990s. Finally, it analysed the changing trends in political party alliance building and how they have influenced politics in general. Elite bargain theory aided the study in scrutinizing the bases on which alliances are structured. In achieving the objectives, a descriptive research design was used. Qualitative techniques were used to collect, analyse and present data. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources included key informant interviews, oral interviews, focus group discussions and archival sources. Secondary sources included books, articles in journals, newspapers, reports, theses, dissertations and internet sources. The research findings indicate that the political party alliances trace their origin to the colonial period when Africans united to react against colonial rule. In search for political independence, airing the grievances of the locals and desire to outdo each other informed political associations formation during the colonial period. The findings further indicate that independent Kenya witnessed a diverse context in political party formation and alliances; different regimes had different approaches in addressing political matters. It was revealed that the individual power interests influenced political party and alliance formation between 1963 to 1991. Nevertheless, due to oppression from the ruling party, there was no solid alliance formed at the time apart from the KANU- KADU merger that broke in 1966. Finally, the findings established that elite interests, ethnicity, leadership desires and political mileage informed alliance formation between 1993 to 2013 in Kenya. As a result when such interests were not met, splits and degeneration were witnessed in alliances leading to new formations. Hence, the period had been marked with elites shifting from one alliance to another. The study is vital in that it adds knowledge to the existing literature on alliance building in Kenya and will provide a new methodology and theoretical framework to examine the challenges in Kenya’s political sphere when it comes to party alignments.
Description
A Thesis Submitted To The School Of Humanities And Social Sciences In Partial Fulfilment Of The Requirements For The Award Of The Degree Of Master Of Arts ( History) Of Kenyatta University, October 2024
1. Susan O. Mwangi
2. Peter W. Wafula