Mati, Jacob Mwathi (2015) Constraining political transformations:The two faces of activist religious organizations in the search for a new constitution in Kenya. Journal of Civil Society, 11 (4). pp. 348-365. ISSN 1744-8689
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Abstract
Religious organizations are key structural components of Kenyan civil society that have played or continue to play a critical role in socio-political developments. In the last two and half decades especially, religious institutions have been among the principal actors shaping the mechanics and trajectories of Kenya's political order. But religious organizations’ political behaviour, especially in the country's search for a new constitution, was contentious and remarkably inconsistent. There were moments of progressive actions but also behaviour that imperilled progress. This article probes this ambivalence of Kenyan faith groups in the struggles for a new constitution. It is argued that their political behavioural inconsistencies largely reflect an ethnic, class and, to a lesser extent, instrumentalized doctrinal or denominational schism that is ever present in the wider Kenyan society. By analysing how religious leaders and their organizations challenged political elite domination while remaining amenable to its influence, this article illustrates the contradictions of elite pacts in these struggles and how they constrained progressive transformation.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Religious institutions/organizations, clergy, constitution/state reform struggles, Kenya |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| Divisions: | Centre for Flexible Learning (CFL) |
| Depositing User: | USP RSC Assistant |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Oct 2017 04:25 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Oct 2017 04:25 |
| URI: | https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/10178 |
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