From Constitutional Law to Reality: A Field Study on the new Kenyan Constitution’s Affects on Land Conflicts
Abstract: In this field study it is examined how the new Kenyan constitution, approved in 2010, has affected conflicts related to land. The study is based on a combination of quantitative data, conducted through standardized interviews with 90 people living in areas affected by land disputes, and qualitative data, gathered through deep-interviews with seven policy experts, all being differently involved in the constitutional reform work. The results show that people perceive that conflicts over land have decreased after the approval of the new constitution. Still, many frequently refer to continuous land problems that relate to title deed mismanagement, land transaction fraud and inheritance disputes. However, ethnic land conflicts, widely focused on in previous research, appear to be exceptions. The results are interpreted through implementation theory through which it is concluded that a legal framework now is in place, yet few institutional tools are available in order to use it, largely because of political reluctance.
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