%0 Journal Article
%T Democracy without Opposition: Kenyan Civil Society at a Juncture
%A Carsten Brinkmeyer
%J The Interdisciplinary Journal of International Studies
%D 2010
%I 
%X One result of the Kenyan national election in 2007 was the construction of a ¡°Grand Coalition¡±. That circumstance left Kenyan democracy without a formal opposition, a gap that has been suggested to be filled by civil society. This article explores the role of Kenya¡¯s civil society in the struggle for democracy, its role in a transitional democracy and its capacity for being a ¡°check and balance institution¡± in a democracy without a parliamentarian opposition. It argues that civil society cannot fill the role of opposition within a democracy that has not been consolidated, since the foremost role of civil society is to promote public participation and the fulfilment of a social contract between state and society that is aligned with the societal values of redistribution, equality and inclusiveness.
%U http://www.ijis.aau.dk/articles/vol6_no1/Carsten%20Brinkmeyer%20%282010%29%20Democracy%20without%20Opposition%20Kenyan%20Civil%20Society%20at%20a%20Juncture.pdf