Contribution of consociational democracy in addressing ethno- political conflicts: case of Tana River County, Kenya

Abstract

The use consociational democracy in addressing ethno-political conflicts in Kenya is a big concern. In spite of the adoption of consociational democracy model whose principles of inclusivity, proportionality and segment autonomy have been argued as the pathway to addressing conflict drivers in multi-ethnic societies, politically motivated conflicts still persist in Kenya. This study sought to examine the contribution of the consociational model of democracy used in Tana River County, Kenya in addressing ethno-political conflicts. The specific objectives were: to establish the extent of application of the pillars of consociational democracy as practiced in the management of ethno-political conflicts in Tana River County, to assess the effectiveness of consociational democracy in addressing ethno-political conflicts and to determine the challenges and opportunities of consociational democracy in addressing ethno-political conflicts in Tana River County. The study was guided by Democratic and pluralist theories to explain the contribution of consociational democracy in managing ethno-political conflicts in Tana River County. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The target population comprised of adult household heads, religious leaders, political leaders, selected government officials, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations‘ (CBOs) representatives, from which a sample size of 408 was obtained. A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data from the respondents. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were used to analyse quantitative data, which was presented using tables, charts and graphs. Content analysis was used for qualitative data, organized into themes based on research objectives and reported using narratives and verbatim quotes. The study found out that older household heads were actively engaged in Consociational democracy in Tana River County, Kenya (57.4%) as opposed to younger household heads. The study also found that consociational democracy had led to inclusion of most ethnic groups in the county in political leadership and governance (60.2%), thus addressing politically instigated ethnic conflicts in the county. The study further found that there were political differences in conflict resolution which led to lack of diversity and inclusivity in power sharing (90.3%). Consequently, the study concluded that there was lack of community participation in the choice of negotiators, and some representatives made unrealistic demands which slowed down negotiations. The study recommends that the youth and women should be involved in political power-sharing negotiations in the county. The study also recommends that the power sharing-negotiating teams should always be ready to compromise their positions to solve conflicts easily. The study findings may be useful to the policy makers at both levels of government to employ an all-inclusive and participatory political and governance process as a way of addressing ethno-political conflicts.