Staging democracy: Kenya's televised presidential debates

Moss, Natalie Charlotte; O'Hare, Alasdair

doi:10.1080/17531055.2013.869929

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Although the code was not necessarily designed to promote censorship, media houses self-censored and downplayed political disagreements in favor of promoting peaceful elections (Freedom House, 2014;Moss and O'Hare, 2014). Despite efforts in the pre-election period, as the election approached, 'indications that media owners were aligning themselves with certain political personalities became apparent.…”

Section: Kenya's Media Landscapementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Additionally, the debates had a strong nationalist agenda similar to Uongozi. As Moss and O'Hare (2014) note, 'an integral aim of the debates was to promote the nation itself, and … its rapidly evolving civic and political culture' (p. 88). Thus, the debates and Uongozi can be understood as part of a much larger mass media approach to the election.…”

Section: Contemporary Kenyan Politicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the focus on ethnicity as the schism in Kenyan society perpetuates a false dichotomy -either you are a Kenyan or you are a member of your ethnic group -not allowing for both national and ethnic identity to coexist as it does for many Kenyans (Bratton and Kimenyi, 2008) and fails to grapple with issues of class in Kenya, which often intersect with ethnicity and politics in important ways (Cheeseman, 2014). Uongozi's focus on unity, leadership qualities, and peace throughout the campaign contributed to a larger 'peace narrative' that permeated the 2013 pre-election period, which tended to equate peace with democracy and limited the range of political conversations presented by media outlets as diverse as televised presidential debates and reality television programming (Cheeseman et al, 2014;Moss and O'Hare, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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We are one Kenya: representations of the nation, leadership, and de-ethnicized identity on reality TV

Tully

Tuwei

2016

Media, Culture & Society

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This research analyzes Uongozi, a massive multimodal civic education campaign that culminated in the Uongozi reality television show, situating the campaign within its sociopolitical context. Our analysis suggests that Uongozi framed and promoted a version of leadership that is tied to an idealized progressive, youth leader despite the lack of quality youth 'candidates' on the show. The campaign also endorsed a message of national unity and identity, articulated through the promotion of a nonethnic collective Kenyan identity. Uongozi contributed to a larger pre-election narrative promulgated through mass media efforts that encouraged Kenyans to move beyond ethnicity in their voting and participate in a peaceful election.

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Section: Kenya's Media Landscapementioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Contemporary Kenyan Politicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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We are one Kenya: representations of the nation, leadership, and de-ethnicized identity on reality TV

Tully

Tuwei

2016

Media, Culture & Society

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“…A case in point was the premier of live TV debates among presidential hopefuls ahead of the 2013 general elections. The debates have since played an important role in minimising ethnic and personality-based politics while emphasising nonviolent, issue-based electoral competition [77]. They also help in improving governance by increasing the citizenry's knowledge of complex issues in governance.…”

Section: The Kenyan Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the Media Be Conflict Sensitive? An Analysis of Kenya and South Africa

Ahere¹

2019

OALib

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The media shapes conflicts, especially in how the conflicts are perceived and understood. In Kenya and South Africa, beset by ongoing structural conflict, the media has played crucial roles in the shaping of narratives about the actors and the drivers of conflict. This article explores the nexus between the nature and operations of media outlets and the escalation or de-escalation of political violence. This article contends that, based on the way that they are regulated, owned and editorially structured, the media in Kenya and South Africa have contributed to the escalation of political violence. Nonetheless, there are useful cases where the media have contributed to de-escalation of political violence. The tackling of political violence in both countries can be more effective if the media are embedded in holistic conflict transformation strategies implemented by government and non-governmental actors, and if media outlets understand and implement the principles and practice of peace journalism.

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“… 7 The international focus on Westgate and on the state's response was widely noted in the Kenyan media (see, for example, Muraya 2013). Moss and O'Hare have noted a similar awareness of the external view in relation to the staged debates between candidates in the 2013 presidential election (2014). …”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

#weareone: blood donation, terrorism and dreams of inclusion in Kenya

Harrington¹

2020

Africa

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This article examines responses to the terrorist attack on the Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi in September 2013 in order to investigate the role played by blood donation, as an expression of national dreams, in the political imaginary of contemporary Kenya. It considers the symbolic effectiveness of calls for blood donation made by political figures in the aftermath of the attacks. Such calls drew on a tradition of donation drives begun in the early years of independence, which emphasized the modernizing imperative of the new state and the importance of unity, hard work and self-sacrifice in building the nation. However, the reaction to Westgate, including calls for blood donation, also needs to be understood with reference to the response of American and other leaders to equivalent terrorist attacks in more recent years. These elite dreams found resonance among ordinary citizens and blood donation recruiters. But they were also subjected to trenchant critiques that sought to expose the reality of the transfusion system, as well as the inequality and injustice that mark the general healthcare system and Kenyan society as a whole. These shortcomings were also highlighted by mobilization drives organized by Kenya's Somali and Asian communities both before and during the Westgate crisis. The latter are presented by their organizers as a means of overcoming historic exclusion and discrimination.

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Staging democracy: Kenya's televised presidential debates

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

We are one Kenya: representations of the nation, leadership, and de-ethnicized identity on reality TV

We are one Kenya: representations of the nation, leadership, and de-ethnicized identity on reality TV

Can the Media Be Conflict Sensitive? An Analysis of Kenya and South Africa

#weareone: blood donation, terrorism and dreams of inclusion in Kenya

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