The Enduring Effects of Election Violence: Evidence from Kenya

• In Event: Consequences of African Electoral Integrity

Abstract

What are the enduring effects of exposure to election violence? While some studies suggest that exposure to political violence hardens ethnic and political identities and erodes trust and cooperation, others argue that exposure to violence increases political participation and empathy toward strangers. Building on this debate, this paper examines how the experience of election violence shapes one’s openness toward ethnic outgroups, political trust, and civic engagement. Drawing on a survey conducted five and 10 years after Kenya’s 2007-08 post-election violence, the paper finds that individuals who experienced election violence are less open to ethnic outsiders and less trusting of political authority. Yet contrary to existing expectations, it also finds that exposure to violence increases one’s likelihood of participating in inter-ethnic forms of community engagement.

Broadly, the paper contributes to research on election violence by specifying the micro-level mechanisms through which exposure to violence reinforces certain political orders while undermining others. These findings present a challenge and opportunity for the peacebuilding community. On the one hand, they indicate that because survivors of election violence are often less trusting of state institutions, state-led efforts at conflict mitigation may falter. However, these same individuals also appear more willing to participate in alternative forms of societal engagement, even across ethnic lines. While this might entail a turn to criminal or violent organizations, it also suggests that investing in very local and informal spaces of inter-group engagement may provide a viable approach to encouraging peaceful polling and preventing future election violence.

Author

• Kathleen Klaus, Uppsala University