Searching for a New Kenya
Politics and Social Media on the Streets of Mombasa

Examining online and in-person public discussion in Kenya, this book sheds fresh light on the role of public discussion and social media in politics.

Stephanie Diepeveen (Author)

9781108843669, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 May 2021

240 pages
15 x 23 x 2 cm, 0.55 kg

'Stephanie Diepeveen uses rich primary sources as she brings conversations and public discussions to life in her book. It is really difficult to highlight any errors in the book in terms of its thematic preoccupation or analysis … Beyond the length of the book, one gets drawn into the narratives of the author far more than one envisioned which is a great strength that compliments the text.' Odunayo Adeojo, African Studies Quarterly

Searching for a New Kenya analyses public discussion in urban Kenya, focusing on the gatherings of citizens, both in-person and online, where people discuss issues of common concern to shed light on the role public discussion plays in politics and how social media affects political movements. Through rich ethnographic study of politics on the ground and online in Mombasa, Stephanie Diepeveen brings a fresh perspective on the wider challenges and dynamics of negotiating political narratives across protracted historical debates and changing digital media. Based on a critical revision of Hannah Arendt's ideas about action and power, this study explores the different dynamics of public talk in practice. It contributes to wider debates about the place and limitations of the Western canon in relation to the study of politics elsewhere, while also offering a nuanced view of why and how certain terms of debate persist in Kenya, and where the potential for change lies for public talk across changing media.

Part I. Re-thinking Publics from Kenya: 1. Introduction
2. The history of publics in Mombasa: people, media and the state
Part II. Characterising Publics: 3. Publics in the streets: Mombasa's street parliaments
4. Publics in civil society and online: Mombasa's youth parliaments
Part III. Situating Publics in Time and Space: 5. Our turn to starve: material insecurity, idleness and publics
6. Publics and the contested state of land in Kenya
7. The obfuscation of spatial constraints on Facebook
Part IV. The Power of Publics: 8. Popular politics and publics during the 2013 general elections
9. In the presence of fear: violence and publics in Kenya
10. The individual spectator and the role of imagination in publics
11. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Media, information & communication industries [KNT], Politics & government [JP], African history [HBJH]