Fighting for Justice (and Survival): Kenyan Civil Society Accountability Strategies and Their Enemies

Article


Hansen, Thomas Obel and Sriram, C. 2015. Fighting for Justice (and Survival): Kenyan Civil Society Accountability Strategies and Their Enemies. International Journal of Transitional Justice. 9 (3), pp. 407-427. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijv012
AuthorsHansen, Thomas Obel and Sriram, C.
Abstract

Drawing on interviews with civil society actors and international donors, this article examines the role of Kenyan civil society in advancing accountability for serious international crimes, specifically the 2007–2008 post-election violence. We consider civil society as recipient and transmitter of norms of accountability and as transformer and user of such norms, as well as civil society strategies for engaging with actors domestically and internationally. Exploring how civil society has devised advocacy strategies relating to the International Criminal Court and domestic justice mechanisms, we challenge some of the assumptions in the literature on civil society and accountability. In particular, we question whether civil society can predominantly rely on international standards as part of a ‘justice cascade,’ arguing that the Kenyan case illustrates a more complex situation where narratives of justice and accountability continuously change and may be undermined as a consequence of counternarratives devised by those opposed to criminal justice.

JournalInternational Journal of Transitional Justice
Journal citation9 (3), pp. 407-427
ISSN1752-7716
Year2015
PublisherOxford University Press
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijv012
Web address (URL)https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijv012
Publication dates
Online21 Jul 2015
Publication process dates
Deposited06 Dec 2017
Copyright information© 2015 The authors. All rights reserved.
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