Abstract (may include machine translation)
The governments of national unity in Kenya (2008-2013) and Zimbabwe (2009-2013) have relevance beyond Eastern Africa. This chapter examines how political science has learned lessons from both experiences. It does so by focusing on three bodies of literature: (1) international data sets on power sharing; (2) the comparative literature on consociationalism; (3) regional and case studies. The starting point is Giovanni Sartori’s “boomerang effect”, or how misclassification can undermine valid theories. In this case, how misinterpretations of the experience with governments of national unity in Kenya and Zimbabwe have distorted our views on power sharing in general and consociationalism in particular. This chapter demonstrates that the boomerang effect has not been avoided in scholarly analysis. One reason is conceptual confusion between power sharing and consociationalism.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | State Politics and Public Policy in Eastern Africa |
Subtitle of host publication | A Comparative Perspective |
Publisher | Springer International Publishing |
Pages | 75-96 |
Number of pages | 22 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783031134906 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783031134890 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2023 |
Keywords
- Authoritarian
- Boomerang effect
- Concept
- Consociationalism
- Elections
- Ethnic
- Government
- Kenya
- Power sharing
- Zimbabwe