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STATUS:CONFIRMED
LAST-MODIFIED:20120314T155306
URL:www.northwestern.edu/african-studies
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CLASS:PUBLIC
UID:429037@northwestern.edu
SUMMARY:Negotiating the State: Formal and Informal Institutions in Contemporary Kenyan State-Building 
DESCRIPTION:PAS Affiliates lunch lecture series Wednesday\, May 16th\, 12pm\, lunch served Negotiating the State: Formal and Informal Institutions in Contemporary Kenyan State-Building  Khairunnisa Mohamedali\, Political Science\, Northwestern Abstract: The majority of the world’s states do not have the strong\, formalized institutions that scholars and international development practitioners alike deem necessary for effective and efficient states. However\, many of these states still do perform state functions adequately when assessed in terms of the capacity to collect tax revenues\, the ability to promote internationally competitive levels of economic growth\, and skill in conducting stable relations with other states. What then explains the relative stability and evolving institutional capacity of such states\, in a context where war-making is not a viable avenue to state-making? The negotiation between state elites and the wealthy tightly-knit\, identity-based business networks are key to explaining the development of regulatory and administrative institutions in contemporary post-colonial states. The example of Somali-Kenyan businesses in Kenya illustrates how state elites seek to extract and secure the resources contained within the exclusive business network\, while the latter aims to secure a favourable business climate. The regulatory and administrative institutions that are the brick-work of the state are the contingent products of the strategies and tactics used in interactions between these two parties. This talk is based on data collected during eight weeks of fieldwork in Nairobi\, interviewing Somali/Somali-Kenyan businesspersons\, and is part of a larger dissertation project aimed at explaining variation in informal and formal institutional development in contemporary\, post-colonial states. In the larger project\, Uganda and Kenya serve as case studies to explore the larger question of institution-building in contemporary states that are often dismissed as weak\, ineffective and corrupt.  Bio: Khairunnisa Mohamedali received her HBA in International Relations from the University of Toronto\, and her MA in International Policy from Carleton University's Norman Patterson School of International Affairs. Her Master's thesis was on the effects of state institutions on ethnicity and conflict in Uganda\, from the colonial through to the post-colonial period. www.northwestern.edu/african-studies
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LOCATION:Evanston
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