Issue
7 - Devolved Power: A Critical Interrogation of the Place, Roles and Obligations of the Media at the Grassroots in Kenya
Corresponding Author(s) : George Nyabuga
Africa Development,
Vol. 42 No. 4 (2017): Africa Development: Special Issue on: ‘Emergence’ on Screen and on Stage
Abstract
The promulgation of a new Constitution in August 2010 opened a new chapter in Kenya’s political history. The constitution set in motion various actions, one of the most critical being the creation of county governments, effectively devolving power and attendant decision-making to the grassroots. Whilst the counties have faced myriad problems since the March 2013 general election, there is an overarching view that they have helped deliver political and economic goodies and development. The optimism is, however, dimming due to poor governance. Moreover, the media that is supposed to help advance transparency, accountability, constitutionalism and democracy seems emasculated due to various reasons including intolerance to press freedom, and the journalists’ inability and/or unwillingness to hold county governments and their leadership to account. This article critically examines the media’s coverage of the devolution process, and interrogates its capacity and efficacy in promoting accountability, constitutionalism and democracy at the county level in Kenya.
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- Almond, D., and Powell, P., 1966, Comparative Politics: A Development Approach, Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
- Barber, B., 1984, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age, Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Berelson, B., Lazarsfeld, P. and McPhee, W., 1954, Voting: A Study of Opinion Formation in a Presidential Campaign, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Bimber, B., 1999, ‘The Internet and Citizen Communication with Government: Does the Medium Matter?’, Political Communication, 16, pp. 409-428.
- Blumler, J., and Gurevitch, M., 2005, ‘Rethinking the Study of Political Communication’, in J. Curran and M. Gurevitch (eds) Mass Media and Society, 4th ed. London: Arnold, pp. 104-121.
- Bryan, C., Tsagarousianou, R. and Tambini, D., 1998, ‘Electronic Democracy and the Civic Networking Movement in Context’ in R. Tsagarousianou, D. Tambini and C. Bryan (eds) Cyberdemocracy: Technology, Cities and Civic Networks, London, Routledge, pp. 1-17.
- Browning, G., 1996, Electronic Democracy: Using the Internet to Influence American Politics, Wilton, Connecticut: Pemberton Press.
- Buckler, S., and Dolowitz, D., 2005, Politics on the Internet, London: Routledge.
- Coleman, S., 2001, ‘The Transformation of Citizenship?’ in B. Axford and R. Huggins, (eds) New Media and Politics, London: Sage, pp. 109-126.
- Deutsch, K., 1963, The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control, New York: Free Press.
- Dowse, R., and Hughes, J., 1972, Political Sociology, London: John Wiley and Sons.
- Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, 2015, Corruption and Ethics in Devolved Services: County Public Officers’ Experiences, Nairobi. Also online, at <http://www.eacc.go.ke/docs/surveys/Corruption-Ethics-Survey-Devolved-Services2015.pdf >. [Accessed 20 April 2018].
- Grossman, L., 1996, The Electronic Republic: Reshaping Democracy in the Information Age, New York: Penguin.
- Gutmann, A., 1987, Democratic Education, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Guttmann, A. and Thompson, D., 1996, Democracy and Disagreement, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Habermas, J., 1974, Theory and Practice, London: Heinemann.
- Habermas, J., 1989, [1962], The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society (Trans. Thomas Burger with the assistance of Frederick Lawrence), Cambridge: Polity.
- Hartley, J. 1992, The Politics of Pictures: The Creation of the Public in the Age of Popular Media. New York: Routledge.
- Heywood, A., 1997, Politics, London: Macmillan.
- Lister, M., et al. 2003, New Media: A Critical Introduction, London: Routledge. Loader, B., ed. 2007, Young Citizens in the Digital Age: Political Engagement, Young People and New Media, London: Routledge.
- Locke, J., Hume, D. and Rousseau, J., 1947, The Social Contract: Essays by Locke, Hume and Rousseau, London: Oxford University Press.
- Louw, E., 2005, The Media and Political Process, London: Sage.
- McNair, B., 2006, Cultural Chaos: Journalism, News and Power in a Globalised World, London: Routledge.
- McQuail, D., 2005, Mass Communication Theory, 5th ed., London: Sage.
- Mill, J. S., (with an introduction by A. D. Lindsay) 1946, Utilitarianism, Liberty, and Representative Government, London: J. M. Dent and Sons.
- Milner, H. (2003), Civic Literacy: How Informed Citizens Make Democracy Work, London: University Press of New England.
- Nisbet, M., and Scheufele, D., 2004, ‘Political Talk as a Catalyst for Online Citizenship’, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 81 (4), pp. 877-896.
- Norris, P., 2001, Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Nyabuga, G., 2012, Mediatising Politics and Democracy: Making Sense of the Role of the Media in Kenya, Nairobi: Media Focus on Africa Foundation.
- Nyabuga, G., 2015, ‘It’s the Money, Stupid! Grappling with Media Hyper- Commercialism in Kenya’, in Media Policy Research Centre (eds) Exploring Kenya’s Media Policy Landscape: 1963-2013, Nairobi: Media Policy Research Centre, pp. 44-65.
- Owen, D., 2006, ‘The Internet and Youth Civic Engagement In the United States’ in Oates, S., Gibson, R. and Owen, D. (eds), The Internet and Politics: Citizens, Voters and Activists, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 20-38.
- Pateman, C., 1970, Participation and Democratic Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University.
- Ranney, A. 1996, Governing: An Introduction to Political Science, 7th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Rush, M., 1992, Politics and Society: An Introduction to Political Sociology, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
- Rush, M. and Althoff, P., 1971, An Introduction to Political Sociology, London: Nelson.
- Street, J., 2001, Mass Media Politics and Democracy, Houndmills, Basingtoke: Palgrave.
- Stromer-Galley, J., and Jamieson, K., 2001, ‘Transformation of Political Leadership?’ in A. Barrie and R. Huggins eds New Media and Politics, London: Sage, pp. 172-190.
- Wheeler, M., 1997, Politics and the Mass Media, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell.
- Wilhelm, A., 2000, Democracy in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in Cyberspace, London: Routledge.
- Wolfsfeld, G., and Philippe, M., eds, 2003, Political Communication in a New Era: A Cross-National Perspective, London: Routledge.
References
Almond, D., and Powell, P., 1966, Comparative Politics: A Development Approach, Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Barber, B., 1984, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age, Berkeley: University of California Press.
Berelson, B., Lazarsfeld, P. and McPhee, W., 1954, Voting: A Study of Opinion Formation in a Presidential Campaign, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bimber, B., 1999, ‘The Internet and Citizen Communication with Government: Does the Medium Matter?’, Political Communication, 16, pp. 409-428.
Blumler, J., and Gurevitch, M., 2005, ‘Rethinking the Study of Political Communication’, in J. Curran and M. Gurevitch (eds) Mass Media and Society, 4th ed. London: Arnold, pp. 104-121.
Bryan, C., Tsagarousianou, R. and Tambini, D., 1998, ‘Electronic Democracy and the Civic Networking Movement in Context’ in R. Tsagarousianou, D. Tambini and C. Bryan (eds) Cyberdemocracy: Technology, Cities and Civic Networks, London, Routledge, pp. 1-17.
Browning, G., 1996, Electronic Democracy: Using the Internet to Influence American Politics, Wilton, Connecticut: Pemberton Press.
Buckler, S., and Dolowitz, D., 2005, Politics on the Internet, London: Routledge.
Coleman, S., 2001, ‘The Transformation of Citizenship?’ in B. Axford and R. Huggins, (eds) New Media and Politics, London: Sage, pp. 109-126.
Deutsch, K., 1963, The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control, New York: Free Press.
Dowse, R., and Hughes, J., 1972, Political Sociology, London: John Wiley and Sons.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, 2015, Corruption and Ethics in Devolved Services: County Public Officers’ Experiences, Nairobi. Also online, at <http://www.eacc.go.ke/docs/surveys/Corruption-Ethics-Survey-Devolved-Services2015.pdf >. [Accessed 20 April 2018].
Grossman, L., 1996, The Electronic Republic: Reshaping Democracy in the Information Age, New York: Penguin.
Gutmann, A., 1987, Democratic Education, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Guttmann, A. and Thompson, D., 1996, Democracy and Disagreement, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Habermas, J., 1974, Theory and Practice, London: Heinemann.
Habermas, J., 1989, [1962], The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society (Trans. Thomas Burger with the assistance of Frederick Lawrence), Cambridge: Polity.
Hartley, J. 1992, The Politics of Pictures: The Creation of the Public in the Age of Popular Media. New York: Routledge.
Heywood, A., 1997, Politics, London: Macmillan.
Lister, M., et al. 2003, New Media: A Critical Introduction, London: Routledge. Loader, B., ed. 2007, Young Citizens in the Digital Age: Political Engagement, Young People and New Media, London: Routledge.
Locke, J., Hume, D. and Rousseau, J., 1947, The Social Contract: Essays by Locke, Hume and Rousseau, London: Oxford University Press.
Louw, E., 2005, The Media and Political Process, London: Sage.
McNair, B., 2006, Cultural Chaos: Journalism, News and Power in a Globalised World, London: Routledge.
McQuail, D., 2005, Mass Communication Theory, 5th ed., London: Sage.
Mill, J. S., (with an introduction by A. D. Lindsay) 1946, Utilitarianism, Liberty, and Representative Government, London: J. M. Dent and Sons.
Milner, H. (2003), Civic Literacy: How Informed Citizens Make Democracy Work, London: University Press of New England.
Nisbet, M., and Scheufele, D., 2004, ‘Political Talk as a Catalyst for Online Citizenship’, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 81 (4), pp. 877-896.
Norris, P., 2001, Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nyabuga, G., 2012, Mediatising Politics and Democracy: Making Sense of the Role of the Media in Kenya, Nairobi: Media Focus on Africa Foundation.
Nyabuga, G., 2015, ‘It’s the Money, Stupid! Grappling with Media Hyper- Commercialism in Kenya’, in Media Policy Research Centre (eds) Exploring Kenya’s Media Policy Landscape: 1963-2013, Nairobi: Media Policy Research Centre, pp. 44-65.
Owen, D., 2006, ‘The Internet and Youth Civic Engagement In the United States’ in Oates, S., Gibson, R. and Owen, D. (eds), The Internet and Politics: Citizens, Voters and Activists, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 20-38.
Pateman, C., 1970, Participation and Democratic Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Ranney, A. 1996, Governing: An Introduction to Political Science, 7th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Rush, M., 1992, Politics and Society: An Introduction to Political Sociology, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Rush, M. and Althoff, P., 1971, An Introduction to Political Sociology, London: Nelson.
Street, J., 2001, Mass Media Politics and Democracy, Houndmills, Basingtoke: Palgrave.
Stromer-Galley, J., and Jamieson, K., 2001, ‘Transformation of Political Leadership?’ in A. Barrie and R. Huggins eds New Media and Politics, London: Sage, pp. 172-190.
Wheeler, M., 1997, Politics and the Mass Media, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell.
Wilhelm, A., 2000, Democracy in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in Cyberspace, London: Routledge.
Wolfsfeld, G., and Philippe, M., eds, 2003, Political Communication in a New Era: A Cross-National Perspective, London: Routledge.