This study’s main findings indicate that in the 2008 post-election period the international development and diplomatic communities collectively commanded substantive influence over the nature and trajectory of Kenya’s evolving political settlement. It argues that these actors enhanced their influence over many important political issues principally as a result of applying good practice in fragile situations: understanding the context, adopting a unified and legitimate stance, coordinating and collaborating closely and acting fast to prevent conflict. They also laid the foundations for statebuilding in order to address the causes of the conflict.
Prior to the crisis, a cohesive political voice was missing and many international actors lacked a thorough understanding of Kenya’s underlying political dynamics. This study concludes that the international development and diplomatic communities – by coming together and following good practice – significantly increased their influence over the political settlement following the 2008 crisis in Kenya. In addition, the international community:
- Demonstrated a clear understanding of the causes of the crisis. Most organisations quickly updated and, in some cases, shared their analyses.
- Approached the crisis with a unity of purpose and a legitimate response. It adopted a strong stance of support for the AU-led mediation and was prepared to embrace a more politically-risky strategy than in the past, publicly halting some joint donor development programmes.
- Used its existing donor and diplomatic coordination mechanisms effectively to respond to the crisis, enabling it to collectively pressure for agreed reforms and to support the new constitution.
- Acted quickly to prioritise conflict prevention, mobilising support and funding
- Focused strongly on statebuilding for at least two years post-crisis, listening to Kenyan voices and its own contextual analysis. However, the decision to pursue technical development programmes and reduce the focus on political reforms may not have been correct, given the deeply-rooted issues in Kenya’s political economy that caused the last crisis.
