International Election Observations and Democratization: Kenya’s battle with 'Free and Fair'

The aim of this thesis is to explore the international component of democratization theory, asking: How has international election observers' involvement in promoting and diffusing democratic electoral norms and practices during presidential elections in Kenya from 1989 to 2020 impacted Kenya's democratization process? First, the theoretical debate on the effectiveness of election observation in fostering democratization is explored. This part identifies that there are substantial knowledge gaps between the theory and reality of election observation, warranting exploration of the causal mechanisms and variables linking election observation and democratization. The necessity of exploring this also arises from the fact that election observation has had mixed democratization outcomes; in Kenya, there are two cases of democratic decline post-observation (2007 and 2017 elections) and four cases of democratic growth (1992, 1997, 2002, 2013). By exploring the negative and positive cases in...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to explore the international component of democratization theory, asking: How has international election observers' involvement in promoting and diffusing democratic electoral norms and practices during presidential elections in Kenya from 1989 to 2020 impacted Kenya's democratization process? First, the theoretical debate on the effectiveness of election observation in fostering democratization is explored. This part identifies that there are substantial knowledge gaps between the theory and reality of election observation, warranting exploration of the causal mechanisms and variables linking election observation and democratization. The necessity of exploring this also arises from the fact that election observation has had mixed democratization outcomes; in Kenya, there are two cases of democratic decline post-observation (2007 and 2017 elections) and four cases of democratic growth (1992, 1997, 2002, 2013). By exploring the negative and positive cases in a single and cross-case analysis, drawing on democracy promotion and diffusion frameworks, this thesis explains that prevailing assumptions of election observation that it deters fraud and cheating, promotes democratic practices, and diffuses free and fair electoral processes largely hold true. It will show that the reasons for varying democratic outcomes are shaped through how different institutions, methods, relations, channeling, extents of synergy, and ideas of "free and fair" affect this process.Show less

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International Election Observations and Democratization: Kenya’s battle with 'Free and Fair'