Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in Kenya

This article argues that when a large part of a population has either limited or no access to social and economic resources as a result of government policy in redistributing revenue towards the capital, such concentrated redistribution at the centralised level may become a key factor in sparking in...

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Main Author: Laila Abdul Latif
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Hradec Králové 2016-05-01
Series:Modern Africa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://195.113.118.27/modernafrica/article/view/116
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author Laila Abdul Latif
author_facet Laila Abdul Latif
author_sort Laila Abdul Latif
collection DOAJ
description This article argues that when a large part of a population has either limited or no access to social and economic resources as a result of government policy in redistributing revenue towards the capital, such concentrated redistribution at the centralised level may become a key factor in sparking internal conflicts among the population living outside the capital. A state that does not share the national wealth and resource revenues equitably among its citizens therefore provides a platform to those who want to challenge the legitimacy of the state to engage in violence. Thus, the centralisation of revenue redistribution by a state may be seen as a potential factor that may lead to internal conflict especially in circumstances where high levels of poverty and unemployment in the country are widespread. Although such internal conflict may not necessarily be violent, centralised revenue redistribution may cause an uprising among the population and lead to a substantial change in the form of government, moving it from a centralised to a decentralised form of government in order to appease the population and for the state to retain its legitimacy. Such was the case in Kenya.
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spelling doaj.art-d2644c31529845158207d65009f5b2eb2024-04-17T11:01:37ZengUniversity of Hradec KrálovéModern Africa2336-32742570-75582016-05-0141Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in KenyaLaila Abdul Latif0School of Law of the University of NairobiThis article argues that when a large part of a population has either limited or no access to social and economic resources as a result of government policy in redistributing revenue towards the capital, such concentrated redistribution at the centralised level may become a key factor in sparking internal conflicts among the population living outside the capital. A state that does not share the national wealth and resource revenues equitably among its citizens therefore provides a platform to those who want to challenge the legitimacy of the state to engage in violence. Thus, the centralisation of revenue redistribution by a state may be seen as a potential factor that may lead to internal conflict especially in circumstances where high levels of poverty and unemployment in the country are widespread. Although such internal conflict may not necessarily be violent, centralised revenue redistribution may cause an uprising among the population and lead to a substantial change in the form of government, moving it from a centralised to a decentralised form of government in order to appease the population and for the state to retain its legitimacy. Such was the case in Kenya. https://195.113.118.27/modernafrica/article/view/116Internal conflictcentralisationrevenuepost-election violencesecessionKenya
spellingShingle Laila Abdul Latif
Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in Kenya
Modern Africa
Internal conflict
centralisation
revenue
post-election violence
secession
Kenya
title Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in Kenya
title_full Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in Kenya
title_fullStr Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in Kenya
title_short Centralised Revenue Redistribution as a Potential Cause of Internal Conflict in Kenya
title_sort centralised revenue redistribution as a potential cause of internal conflict in kenya
topic Internal conflict
centralisation
revenue
post-election violence
secession
Kenya
url https://195.113.118.27/modernafrica/article/view/116
work_keys_str_mv AT lailaabdullatif centralisedrevenueredistributionasapotentialcauseofinternalconflictinkenya