Overview

This book explores the journey that Kenya has travelled as a nation since its independence on December 12, 1963. It seeks to advance understanding of the country's major milestones in the postcolonial period, the challenges and the lessons that can be learned from this experience, and the future prospects.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Mwenda Kithinji ,  Mickie Mwanzia Koster ,  Jerono P. Rotich
Publisher:   Palgrave Macmillan
Imprint:   Palgrave Macmillan
Edition:   1st ed. 2016
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   4.581kg
ISBN:  

9781137574213

ISBN 10:   1137574216
Pages:   277
Publication Date:   12 January 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction PART I: CONTESTING HISTORY AND MEMORIES 1. The Demise and Rise of Majimbo in Independent Kenya; Robert M. Maxon 2. Recasting Kenyan History: Mau Mau Reparations, Narration, and Memory; Mickie Mwanzia Koster 3. Rethinking the 'Shifta War' Fifty Years after Independence: Myth, Memory, and Marginalization; Keren Weitzberg 4. Rendilelane: Spatial Views from the Periphery of Kenya; Hilah Segal 5. Politics and the Lack of Labor Militancy in Kenya: Trade Unionism After Independence; Eric E. Otenyo PART II: REASSESSING POLICIES AND POLITICS 6. The Strategic Art of Appeasing Old Lovers while Courting New Friends: Kenya's Foreign Relations in Retrospect; Mumo Nzau 7. Kenya At Fifty and the Betrayal of Nationalism: The Paradoxes of Two Family Dynasties; Wanjala S. Nasongo 8. Elusive Justice: The Maasai Contestation of Land Appropriation in Kenya: A Historical and Contemporary Perspective; Ben Ole Koissaba 9. Kenya at Fifty: State Policies Reforms, Politics and Law, 1963-2013; Wycliffe Nyachoti Otiso and Ruth Joyce Kaguta 10. Continuity and Change in Kenya's Defense and Foreign Policy: The Impact of the New Security Dilemma; Oscar Gakuo Mwangi

Reviews

Toyin Falola, University of Texas-Austin I recommend that we offer an advance contract to Professors Kithinji, Mwanzia Koster, and Rotich for their manuscript. This manuscript critically examines Kenya's past achievements, present challenges, and future opportunities since a half a century of Independence. The manuscript is centered on this Kenya Golden Jubilee anniversary occurring on December 12, 2013 as a moment to reflect on the nation's postcolonial experience and also to evaluate its future prospects. The authors show that although Kenya's postcolonial experience is a mixed bag of momentous feats but also several missteps that on occasion have severely strained the national fabric. Significantly, the country has distinguished itself as the hub for commerce and industry in East and Central Africa, and has mostly avoided destructive civil strife. Further, the new constitution promulgated in 2010 has been a source of confidence and optimism for a better future. Nevertheless, Kenya is confronted with many challenges the most significant being the inability to generate enough jobs for its youth, severe ethnic differences largely nurtured by the political class, and widespread corruption. This recommended manuscript builds and expands this study by uniquely looking at the Golden Jubilee moment through an interdisciplinary view that provides a much bigger picture of the complexity of Kenya while making it appealing to a variety of different audiences. Drawing from different disciplines and perspectives, the manuscript addresses three important questions: 1) What precisely has Kenya achieved in half a century of independence? 2) What challenges has the nation faced in the last 50 years, and what lessons can be learned from these experiences going forward? 3) What will the next 50 years look like? The last book that attempted to explore the dynamics of Kenya since Independence was published in 2011. In this book, Kenya: Between Hope and Despair, 1963-2011, Daniel Branch treats the political history of Kenya from independence to 2011. Unlike Branch's study of a Kenya between hope and despair, the authors and contributors conceptualize Kenya in terms of its milestones, challenges, and prospects, arguing for a Kenya well positioned to prosper despite many obstacles. Overall, this work promises to offer a scholarly and fruitful conversation on postcolonial Kenya. This edited collection of chapters will also illuminate the lessons learned from the challenges and hopes to give an overview of what Kenya will look like in the next 50 years. This interdisciplinary book project promises to be a handy reference source for scholars and researchers in institutions of higher learning. The perspectives and issues raised in the manuscript are relevant and central to issues of Kenya and postcolonial Africa in general. Through the different historical and cultural dimensions, the chapters reveal the tensions of a country that is still in a state of flux based on their colonial past.

“These two volumes in the ""African Histories and Modernities"" series, designed to provide a voice for African scholarship, do just that. … This important book makes it clear that the future is still up for grabs, but that the current generation of scholars owns the past. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” (W. Arens, Choice, Vol. 54 (3), November, 2016)

These two volumes in the African Histories and Modernities series, designed to provide a voice for African scholarship, do just that. ... This important book makes it clear that the future is still up for grabs, but that the current generation of scholars owns the past. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. (W. Arens, Choice, Vol. 54 (3), November, 2016)

Author Information

Michael Mwenda Kithinji is an Assistant Professor of History and the interim director of the African and African-American Studies program at the University of Central Arkansas, USA. He is a recipient of the Ohio Academy of History 2011 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Mickie Mwanzia Koster is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas, USA. She is the recipient of the 2015 Junior Scholar Excellence Award in African Studies. She is the author of The Power of the Oath: Mau Mau Nationalism in Kenya, 1952-1960 and the co-editor of Hip Hop and Social Change in Africa: Ni Wakati. Jerono P. Rotich is a Professor at North Carolina A&T State University, USA. Her scholarship record includes, one co-edited book, peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and proceedings. Her awards include; UNCG Board of Governors Teaching Excellence; NCAT Community Engagement scholarship and; National Phi Epsilon Kappa Society, Distinguished Advisor Award.

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