DEMOCRATIC TRADE-OFFS IN KENYA DEVELOPMENT MODEL: ELITE CAPTURE, PARTICIPATION AND GOVERNANCE OUTCOMES
Abstrak
This paper analyses how the successive development models of Kenya, including the Vision 2030, the Big Four Agenda and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) have created democratic trade-offs towards achieving economic growth. The paper is based on elite capture theory and uses a comparative political-economy method, which combines qualitative research of policy texts, such as official national development plans and secondary governance indicators between 2008 and 2023. This analysis shows that, democratic erosion is not a mere policy failure, but systematically repeated development governance set up. Democratic displacement was created by vision 2030 with technocratic concentration, institutional insulation; Big Four Agenda increased this trend by squeezing accountability under executive acceleration; and BETA reorganized elite capture into localized spaces of participatory, with localized brokerage and co-optation. In all three models, the policy design varied to alter the shape of democracy, but not its content, which always arose due to the weak institutional constraints on elite power and the mischaracterization of participation and enforceable accountability. The article also adds to scholarship by applying the elite capture theory to a participatory development setting, refuting normative beliefs that inclusion is the sole means of increasing democratic legitimacy. To policy and practice, the results warn against reforms that are designed but not implemented by the institution and that the issue of economic ambition and democratic accountability can only be resolved by having power-limiting governance structures in practice.
Kata Kunci
Teks Lengkap:
PDFReferensi
Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty. ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 29(2). https://doi.org/10.1355/ae29-2j
African Development Bank Group. (2024). Kenya Economic Outlook | African Development Bank Group. https://www.afdb.org/en/countries-east-africa-kenya/kenya-economic-outlook
Bennett, A. (2023). Causal Inference and Policy Evaluation from Case Studies Using Bayesian Process Tracing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12982-7_8
Booth, D. (2012). Development as a collective action problem: Addressing the real challenges of African governance. www.institutions-africa.org
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Dapprich, J. P. (2024). Democratic Theory and Economic Planning: A Critique of Participatory Economics. Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics, 17(2), 73–93. https://doi.org/10.23941/EJPE.V17I2.867
George, A. L. (2019). Case Studies and Theory Development: The Method of Structured, Focused Comparison. 191–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90772-7_10
Government of Kenya. (2007). Kenya Vision 2030; A Globally Competitive and Prosperous Kenya. Government Printer.
Government of Kenya. (2017). “The Big Four”-Immediate priorities and actions; Specific Priorities for the new term .
Government of Kenya. (2018). Kenya Vision 2030: Third Medium Term Plan (2018-2022). In Transforming Lives : Advancing socio-economic development through the “Big Four.”
Government of Kenya. (2021). Third Progress Report on Implementation of The Big Four Agenda 2020/2021 FY.
Government of Kenya. (2022). The Plan-The Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda 2022-2027. https://africacheck.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2022-08/Kenya%20Kwanza%20UDA%20Manifesto%202022.pdf
Government of Kenya. (2024). Fourth Medium Term Plan “Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda for Inclusive Growth.” www.planning.go.ke
Grindle, M. S. (2007). Good Enough Governance Revisited. Development Policy Review, 25(5), 533–574. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7679.2007.00385.x
Gründler, K., & Krieger, T. (2016). Democracy and growth: Evidence from a machine learning indicator. European Journal of Political Economy, 45, 85–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EJPOLECO.2016.05.005
Hahnel, R. (2020). Participatory Economics and the Next System. The New Systems Reader, 391–405. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367313401-31
Hickey, Samuel., Sen, Kunal., & Bukenya, Badru. (2014). The Politics of Inclusive Development : Interrogating the Evidence. Oxford University Press.
Jin, S., Hu, Y., & Meng, T. (2024). Why Economic Inequality Undermines Political Trust: An Analysis of Mechanisms. Public Opinion Quarterly, 88(2), 337–358. https://doi.org/10.1093/POQ/NFAE013
Kopp, C., Estevez, E., & Kazel, M. (2024). Development Economics: Definition and Types. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/development-economics.asp
McCollum, R., Theobald, S., Otiso, L., Martineau, T., Karuga, R., Barasa, E., Molyneux, S., & Taegtmeyer, M. (2018). Priority setting for health in the context of devolution in Kenya: implications for health equity and community-based primary care. Health Policy and Planning, 33(6), 729–742. https://doi.org/10.1093/HEAPOL/CZY043
Mhazo, A. T., & Maponga, C. C. (2022). Beyond political will: unpacking the drivers of (non) health reforms in sub-Saharan Africa. BMJ Global Health, 7(12), e010228. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJGH-2022-010228
Musgrave, M. K., & Wong, S. (2016). Towards a More Nuanced Theory of Elite Capture in Development Projects. The Importance of Context and Theories of Power. Journal of Sustainable Development, 9(3), p87. https://doi.org/10.5539/JSD.V9N3P87
Ong’era, A., & Musili, B. M. (2019). Public Sector Reforms in Kenya: Challenges and Opportunities. Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis - KIPPRA. http://www.kippra.org
Persha, L., & Andersson, K. (2014). Elite capture risk and mitigation in decentralized forest governance regimes. Global Environmental Change, 24(1), 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.GLOENVCHA.2013.12.005
Romer, P. M. (1994). The Origins of Endogenous Growth. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1257/JEP.8.1.3
Sheely, R. (2015). Mobilization, Participatory Planning Institutions, and Elite Capture: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Rural Kenya. World Development, 67, 251–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.10.024
Stiftung, B. (2024). BTI 2024 Country Report Kenya. https://www.bti-project.org.
Sylwester, K. (2015). Does Democracy Increase Growth More in New Countries? Economics & Politics, 27(2), 266–289. https://doi.org/10.1111/ECPO.12055
The Constitution of Kenya. (2010).
Twaweza, O. (2019). The Big Four Agenda - Kenya’s Views on Current Public Policy Issues.
Veney, C., & Zeleza, P. (2013). The Political Economy of Development and Democratic Transitions in Kenya. Yale Journal of International Affairs. https://www.yalejournal.org/publications/the-political-economy-of-development-and-democratic-transitions-in-kenya
World Bank Group. (2024, October). Kenya Overview: Development news, research, data | World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kenya/overview
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24198/aliansi.v5i1.64399
Refbacks
Aliansi : Jurnal Politik, Keamanan Dan Hubungan Internasional Terindeks Di:
Penerbit:
Pusat Studi Politik dan Demokrasi, Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, Universitas Padjadjaran.
Kampus FISIP Universitas Padjadjaran, Gedung D, Lt.2 Jl. Raya Bandung-Sumedang Km.21, Jatinangor, Sumedang, Indonesia