Antinomies in the struggle for the transformation of the Kenyan constitution (1990–2010)

Abstract

How do social movements force fundamental constitutional changes in a polity? This article argues that it is the ‘disruptive power’ of movements that make them a force of change. By analysing waves of contemporary Kenyan struggles for constitutional and state reform, the article explains why it was only after 20 years of struggle, and in the aftermath of a major social conflict – the 2008 post-election violence – that constitutional reforms were successful. It further argues that it was the collective threats and fears posed by the post-election violence that forced an elite consensus necessary to deliver a new constitution in Kenya in 2010.