On the occasion of the venue of Hervé Maupeu and Daniel Bourmaud, French researchers, IFRA and its partners (BIEA, Goethe Institute and NMK) are organising a workshop on the new trends in Kenyan politics. Political decisions that might be described as rather impressive have shaped Kenya's political landscape during the last months: new constitution; intensified prosecution of key suspects of the 2007-08 post-election violence crisis, such as several political leaders; fearless activities in the fight against corruption carried out by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) under its new director Patrice Lumumba to highlight some. Furthermore, the proximity of upcoming 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections has allowed speculations around new alignments amongst political leaders and formations. In the context of these important political evolutions, academic discussions about according subjects might come at a good time. Five themes could be highlighted:
• The respect of constitutional changes
• The role of religions and the ethics of the religious discourse in politics
• The unofficial electoral campaign and the problem of the renewal of the elite
• The struggle against corruption
• The international pressure on Kenyan politics
Contemporary politics shall be discussed and interpreted in the light of Kenya's past political evolution, confronting the different perspectives and approaches of historians, political scientists and professional representatives of the civil society. By entering a transition period including elements such as the establishment of a coalition government, a forged anti-corruption discourse and the necessity to imagine a post-Kibaki political era among others, Kenya has a historic opportunity to be at the dawn of either a long-claimed renewal or might see itself confronted to a simple reproduction of its political scene. The future of Kenyan politics is at stake and needs to be assessed in depth to fully understand the trends that are already shaping the next elections.
