Sept 26-27, 2013
The “Kenya at Fifty” Conference will explore the changes that have taken place since independence in December 1963, examining the evolution of the political system following the introduction of multi-party politics and the new 2010 Constitution, which is only just beginning to transform relations between the central executive and the 47 counties; the development of the economy, especially the impact of liberalization and the growth of trade with China and India and other new centers of investment; and the impact of population growth – there are now eight times as many Kenyans as there were at independence – and the problems of rapid urbanization. It will also trace the legacies of colonialism, the evolution of Kenyan studies, and the cultural transformation that has taken place over the last fifty years. Kenya 2013 under the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta is a very different place from the country that gained independence from Britain on December 12th, 1963, after the Mau Mau struggle, led by President Jomo Kenyatta. It has one of Africa’s most dynamic economies, a rapidly modernizing infrastructure, and a large and well-educated middle class. But the political system has long been a constraint; now, after years of political problems and increasing ethnic violence, will the new Constitution provide the political platform for economic success? These and many other issues will be discussed at this major meeting of scholars interested in Kenya.