The risks of peace: Exploring the relationship between peaceocracy and journalism in Kenya

Abstract

Scholars have recently suggested that a peaceocracy is emerging in nations experiencing intermittent conflicts. A peaceocracy is an institutionalised political strategy – rather than a political system – that aims to promote stability in states considered fragile. While scholars know how the press functions in a democracy, little is still known about how a peaceocracy shapes journalism. This article explores the Kenyan context to illuminate how the press co-opts a peaceocratic discourse and discusses its implications to the profession. We pose that a political consensus between the state and the press foments a strong peace-building discourse that challenges professional autonomy. Secondly, in a peaceocracy, the state takes the role of the guardian of peace and the press, a promoter of peace, both of which legitimise a degree of restriction on press freedom.