What are the effects of institutionalisation on long-term peacebuilding? In theory, institutionalisation enhances national and local capacities to sustain peace in the long term. However, in the case of Kenya, institutionalisation now poses a threat to peacebuilding. Institutionalisation is the process of formalising peacebuilding through state policy and structures that aim to sustain more permanent capacities for peace. Institutionalising peacebuilding through the infrastructure for peace in Kenya has increased national capacities for peace. Yet the process of institutionalisation now threatens local agency, effective peace practice, and resource sustainability. These findings are based on qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and documentary evidence. While infrastructures for peace vary in composition and degree of institutionalisation, the findings from Kenya offer insights on the potential threats of institutionalisation to the sustainability of long-term peacebuilding.
AjuluR. (2002). Politicised ethnicity, competitive politics and conflict in Kenya a historical perspective. African Studies, 61(2), 251–268.
2.
AlihodžićS. (2012). Electoral violence early warning and infrastructures for peace. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 7(3), 54–69.
3.
Atieno-OdhiamboE. S. (2002). Hegemonic enterprises and instrumentalities of survival: Ethnicity and democracy in Kenya. African Studies, 61(2), 223–249.
4.
AutesserreS. (2010). The trouble with the Congo: Local violence and the failure of international peacebuilding. Cambridge University Press.
5.
BachmannJ.HonkeJ. (2010). ‘Peace and security’ as counterterrorism? The political effects of liberal interventions in Kenya. African Affairs, 109(434), 97–114.
6.
BrownS. (2003a). Deteriorating human security in Kenya: Domestic, regional and global dimensions. In GrantJ. A.SöderbaumF. (Eds.), The new regionalism in Africa (pp. 93–109). Ashgate.
7.
BrownS. (2003b). Quiet diplomacy and recurring ‘ethnic clashes’ in Kenya. In SriramC. L.WermesterK. (Eds.), From promise to practice: Strengthening UN capacities for the prevention of violent conflict (pp. 69–100). L. Rienner.
8.
ChumaA.OjieloO. (2012). Building a standing national capacity for conflict prevention and resolution in Kenya. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 7(3), 25–39.
9.
DonaisT.KnorrA. C. (2013). Peacebuilding from below vs. the liberal peace: The case of Haiti. Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue Canadienne D’études Du Développement, 34(1), 54–69.
10.
EatonD. (2008). The business of peace: Raiding and peace work along the Kenya-Uganda border (Part II). African Affairs, 107(427), 243–259.
GreinerC. (2013). Guns, land, and votes: Cattle rustling and the politics of boundary (re)making in Northern Kenya. African Affairs, 112(447), 216–237.
13.
Kenya National Focal Point. (n.d.). Kenya national focal point on small arms & light weapons strategic plan 2010/2011/2014-2015. NSCPBM.
14.
KloppJ. M. (2001). ‘Ethnic clashes’ and winning elections: The case of Kenya’s electoral despotism. Canadian Journal of African Studies/La Revue Canadienne Des Études Africaines, 35(3), 473–517.
15.
KloppJ. M. (2012). Kenya struggles to fix itself. Current History, 111(745), 181–186.
16.
KumarC.De la HayeJ. (2012). Hybrid peacemaking: Building national ‘infrastructures for peace.’Global Governance, 18(1), 13–20.
17.
LederachJ. P. (1997). Building peace: Sustainable reconciliation in divided societies. United States Institute of Peace Press.
18.
LederachJ. P. (2012). The Origins and evolution of infrastructures for peace: A personal reflection. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 7(3), 8–13.
19.
LonsdaleJ. (2008). Soil, work, civilisation, and citizenship in Kenya. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 2(2), 305–314.
20.
LynchG. (2006). Negotiating ethnicity: Identity politics in contemporary Kenya. Review of African Political Economy, 33(107), 49–65.
21.
LynchG. (2011). I say to you: Ethnic politics and the Kalenjin in Kenya. University of Chicago Press.
22.
Mac GintyR. (2012). Routine peace: Technocracy and peacebuilding. Cooperation and Conflict, 47(3), 287–308.
23.
Mac GintyR.RichmondO. P. (2013). The Local turn in peace building: A critical agenda for peace. Third World Quarterly, 34(5), 763–783.
24.
MagotsiD. (2014). ‘Kenya’s infrastructure for peace: The national steering committee’. In OzonniaO.MachariaM. (Eds.), The study & practice of peace & security in Africa: Focus on eastern and western Africa. UNDP Kenya. p. 45–56.
25.
Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government. (2014). Sessional paper No. 5 of 2014 on national policy for peacebuilding and conflict management. Government of Kenya.
26.
The National Cohesion and Integration Act, Pub. L. No. 12 (2008).
27.
NPI-Africa & NCCK-CPBD. (2001). Strategic and responsive evaluation of peacebuilding: Towards a learning model, seminar report, Naivasha. (p. 32)
28.
NSCPBCM. (2009). Standard guidelines and terms of reference for peace structures in Kenya. Government Printer.
29.
NSCPBCM. (2011). Modogashe declaration III. Nairobi: National steering committee on peacebuilding and conflict management. Government Printer.
30.
OdendaalA. (2012). The political legitimacy of national peace committees. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 7(3), 40–53.
31.
OdendaalA. (2013). A crucial link: Local peace committees and national peacebuilding. United States Institute of Peace.
32.
OxfamG. B. (2003). Oxfam GB-funded peace building initiatives in the arid districts of Kenya: Lessons and challenges, Oxfam regional pastoral programme in the horn and East Africa (p. 120).
33.
ParisR. (2010). Saving liberal peacebuilding. Review of International Studies, 36(2), 337.
34.
RichmondO. P.PogoddaS. (2016). Introduction: The contradictions of peace, international architecture, the state, and local agency. In RichmondO. P.PogoddaS. (Eds.), Post-liberal peace transitions: Between peace formation and state formation (pp. 1–26). Edinburgh University Press.
35.
RyanJ. (2012). Infrastructures for peace as a path to resilient societies: An institutional perspective. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 7(3), 14–24.
36.
Uwiano Joint Secretariat. (2012). Uwiano platform for peace: A conflict prevention and response initiative. (p. 15)
37.
van LeeuwenM.VerkorenW.BoedeltjeF. (2012). Thinking beyond the liberal peace: From utopia to heterotopias. Acta Politica, 47(3), 292–316.
38.
van TongerenP. (2013). Potential cornerstone of infrastructures for peace? How local peace committees can make a difference. Peacebuilding, 1(1), 39–60.
39.
WatkinsS. C.SwidlerA. (2013). Working misunderstandings: Donors, brokers, and villagers in Africa’s AIDS industry. Population and Development Review, 38(s1), 197–218.
