Emergence of inter-identity alliances in struggles for transformation of the Kenyan constitution

Struggles for transformation of the Kenyan constitution brought into alliances disparate movements from below, sections of middleclass, and factions of political, economic and religious elites, in challenging the government. The emergence of these alliances presents useful cases for examining the dynamic relationship and politics between these movements, and also for probing social movement theory. Specifically, given the centrality of identity consciousness in movements, how were intrinsic class, religious, gender, generational and ethnic identity interests, contestations and cleavages overcome to enable inter-identity alliances in these struggles? More critically, how relevant are the dominant social movement theories in explaining this phenomenon? Is theoretical straightjacketing useful for analysing movements with such diversity? Drawing from in-depth interviews and existing literature on Kenyan constitutional reform struggles, this paper illustrates how alliances between the different identities and movements were forged to allow for a common struggle. The paper further illustrates that while political opportunity structures explain certain aspects of this phenomenon, framing, civic education and community organising strategies were critical enablers for collective identity formation

Volunteerism for Peace in East Africa

Volunteering is central to any community-centered development intervention. As such, volunteers can contribute substantially to establishing and preserving peace. This paper describes various interpersonal, intergroup, and institutional theoretical perspectives to explain why volunteerism is particularly suited to peacemaking and peacekeeping. Special consideration is given to how involving young volunteers may be highly beneficial to peacemaking and peacekeeping. The paper emphasizes the “added value” of utilizing volunteers in peace and development organizations, and provides specific examples from the Eastern African region that illustrate how volunteerism is being used to prevent conflict, to mediate and transform active conflict, and to reduce the consequences of violent conflict

Global civil society advocacy alliances and networks in the changing terrain of global governance and development : a critical inquiry into the politics and dynamics in crafting and operations of the Global Action against Poverty (GCAP)

The last few decades have witnessed the emergence of global civil society advocacy networks as major players in global governance. This research aimed at using a case study of GCAP in critically analysing the politics and dynamics of crafting a global civil society advocacy alliance. Specifically, the study aimed to: a) identify, analyse, and document GCAP’s experiences, strategies and challenges in trans-national networking and advocacy; b) generate knowledge on recent developments in global civil society networking and advocacy. The study analyses the study phenomenon using two central features of GCAP: networking and advocacy. Chapter one attempts to give a background of the study and also discusses the methods used. Chapter two lays the theoretical framework and operationalises the concepts explored in the study. The report argues that alliances are very different from ‘normal’ forms of organisations because they are made up of diverse forms of organisations, coming together voluntarily to achieve a specific purpose. They are therefore, by their very nature, complex, unstable, and difficult to co-ordinate. Chapters Three and Four look at such intricacies and complexities of crafting and operations of global advocacy networks. I conclude this research arguing that despite challenges in alliances building and operations, global civil society organisations will still need to network if they are to remain relevant and effective in current global governance context. It is only in their unity that they will be able to confront their common challenges

The power and limits of social movements in promoting political and constitutional change: the case of the Ufungamano Initiative in Kenya (1999-2005)

Ph.D.--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2012The Kenyan political landscape has, since the 1990’s, been tumultuous and characterised by multiple political and social struggles centred on embedding a new constitutional order. This thesis is a qualitative case study of the Ufungamano Initiative, a powerful movement involved in these struggles between 1999 and 2005. Emerging in an environment of deep societal divisions and multiple sites of struggle, the Ufungamano Initiative is a remarkable story of how and why previously disjointed and disparate individuals and groups came together in a ‘movement of movements’ to become a critical contender in Kenyan constitutional reforms. The movement utilised direct citizens’ actions and was directly in competition with the Moi/KANU state for control of the Constitution Reform Process. This direct competition and challenge, posed a legitimacy crisis on the state led process forcing an autocratic and intolerant regime to capitulate and open up space for democratic engagement of citizens in the Constitution Reform Process. But the Ufungamano Initiative is also a story of the limits of social movements. While holding so much power and promise, movements are limited in their ability to effect fundamental changes in society. Even after substantial gains in challenging the state, the Ufungamano Initiative was vulnerable and agreed to enter a ‘coerced’ merger with the state-led process in 2001. The merger dissipated the Ufungamano Initiative’s energy. This study therefore speaks to the power and limits of social movements in effecting fundamental changes in society. Applying a socio-historical approach, the study locates the Ufungamano Initiative within the broader social, economic and political struggles to argue that contemporary constitutional reform struggles in Kenya were, in Polanyi’s (1944) terms, double movement type of societal counter-movements to protect itself from an avaricious economic and political elites. Engaging the political process model, this thesis analyses seventy in-depth interviews and secondary data to explain the dynamics in the rise, operations, achievements and decline of the Ufungamano Initiative as illustrative of how movements emerge, take on a life of their own and sometimes metamorphose into phenomenal forces of change, or just fizzle out

Volunteering and Civic Service in Three African Regions: Contributions to Regional Integration, Youth Development and Peace

This paper broadly looks at the role of youth volunteering in cultivating peace and development in Sub-Saharan Africa

State of the World's Volunteerism Report: Universal Values for Global Well-being

The focus of this report is on the universal values that motivate people the world over to volunteer for the common good and on the impact of volunteer action on societies and individuals. The authors advocate the power of volunteering to promote cooperation, encourage participation and contribute to the well-being of individuals and of society as a whole

Omnipresent yet invisible: A review of ‘African philanthropy’

The primary question addressed in this chapter is: what is known about African philanthropy across the continent? Secondly, what does literature on African philanthropy look like? The paper is based on a scoping and documentation exercise of literature on African philanthropy. The exercise was aimed at identifying existing literature on African philanthropy and to contribute to ongoing analysis with a view to surfacing the ‘meaning’, ‘relevance’ and ‘identity’ of African philanthropy and its prevalent manifestations in existing literature. The chapter hopes to make modest contributions towards these aims by offering preliminary overview of the diversity, forms, expressions and models of African philanthropy in identified existing literature

Country Report 2020: Kenya

Philanthropy—i.e., the private giving of time or valuables (money, security, property) for public purposes—is an age-old social practice that binds societies together (Salamon, Sokolowski, and Sturza 1992; Payton, 1988; Payton and Moody, 2008; Moyo, 2016). In many parts of Africa, philanthropy is deeply embedded in everyday practices characterized by a reciprocal obligation dynamic (Mati, 2020b). Philanthropy, as a social exchange, has undergone transformations, especially in terms of scope and structure over time. Specifically, philanthropy as experienced in Kenya and the rest of Africa has, in recent decades, evolved from practices deeply embedded in everyday prosocial behaviors to some form of formal institutionalization (Fowler and Mati, 2019; Moyo, 2016)

Models, Developments, and Effects of Transborder Youth Volunteer Exchange Programs in Eastern and Southern Africa

This chapter applies Social Analysis Systems (SAS2) methodology in comparing the impacts of two transborder youth volunteer exchange programs in eastern and southern Africa. Specifically, it compares Canada World Youth South-to-South Young Leaders in Action and Southern Africa Trust’s SayXchange programs in South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya on volunteers, host communities, and host organizations with a view to demonstrate their contributions to development and regional integration agenda. The findings indicate that enhancement of regional awareness and identity at grassroots level can be fostered through such regional youth volunteer exchange programs as they support African integration, social development, peace, and governance priorities. The governance and development implications at national and intergovernmental levels in Africa are to among other things, invest in transborder youth volunteer exchange programs, because these can bridge people-to-people interactions; aid regional identity formation; and assist in addressing common developmental, peace, and governance challenges