James D. Long

The Political Economy of Reforms in Kenya: The Post-2007 Election Violence and a New Constitution

Abstract: This article explores the package of “Agenda item 4” reforms undertaken by the Kenyan government in the mediation process following the 2007–8 postelection violence, including those relating to long-standing issues over constitutional revision. It situates the previous lack of reforms within Kenyas political economy and demonstrates how political and economic interests thwarted progress and produced the postelection crisis. It also examines the more recent attempts to address reforms following the signing of the National Accord and the creation of a power-sharing government, and finds strong public support for constitutional revision. It concludes that these pressures from below, along with a realignment of political interests and institutional change from power-sharing, helped support reform.

Voting behavior and electoral irregularities in Kenya's 2013 Election

Data from a unique nationwide exit poll of 6258 voters are employed to explore two central themes of the 2013 Kenyan Election: (1) the correlates of individual vote choice; and (2) the credibility of the electoral process. The analysis reveals several striking relationships between an individuals vote choice, personal attributes, and perceptions of the campaign and candidates. We find that the leading coalitions mostly kept their co-ethnics together, although ethnic alliances proved somewhat less certain than in the past. We find that, for the most part, voters treated Uhuru Kenyatta – not sitting Prime Minister Raila Odinga – as the incumbent. The data show that campaign issues also influenced the vote: Odinga garnered more support on issues related to constitutional implementation, corruption, and the International Criminal Court (ICC), while Kenyatta won on the economy, employment, and security. Exit poll data also reveal irregularities in the electoral process, including some evidence of inflated vote totals benefitting the Jubilee coalition and illegal administrative activities. The data, while not definitive, are highly suggestive of a deeply flawed electoral process and challenge claims that Kenyatta won a majority in the first round.

Forest management policies and elk summer carrying capacity in theAbies amabilis forest, western Washington

Effects of different forest management policies on long-term vegetation development are incorporated into a computer simulation of a western Washington watershed. The response of a Rocky Mountain elk(Cervus canadensis nelsoni) population to these vegetation changes is simulated using information on their differential use of vegetation types. Simulations include: 1) a cessation of timber harvesting leading to an immediate decline in elk members resulting from a reduction in summer habitats; 2) a stable elk population, similar to the present one, resulting from a constant timber harvesting rate, and 3) initial increases in herd size, followed within 50 years by a sharp decrease, resulting from cutting all old growth timber within the next decade and then a cessation of timber harvestings.

Improving Electoral Integrity with Information and Communications Technology

Irregularities plague elections in developing democracies. The international community spends hundreds of millions of dollars on election observation, with little robust evidence that it consistently improves electoral integrity. We conducted a randomized control trial to measure the effect of an intervention to detect and deter electoral irregularities employing a nation-wide sample of polling stations in Uganda using scalable information and communications technology (ICT). In treatment stations, researchers delivered letters to polling officials stating that tallies would be photographed using smartphones and compared against official results. Compared to stations with no letters, the letters increased the frequency of posted tallies by polling center managers in compliance with the law; decreased the number of sequential digits found on tallies – a fraud indicator; and decreased the vote share for the incumbent president in some specifications. Our results demonstrate that a cost-effective citizen and ICT intervention can improve electoral integrity in emerging democracies.

Book Reviews : Against the Tide. Edited by Michael S. Kimmel and Thomas E. Mosmiller. Boston: Beacon Press, 1992, 521 pp.,

Against the Tide is a groundbreaking documentary history of men’s support for women’s struggles in the United States from 1775 to the present. The 135 selections are a rich sampling of the more than 1,000 documents the editors found in their six-year search. Speeches, letters, songs, essays, and other written records are grouped thematically around the issues of education, economic participation, political enfranchisement, and social equality. The lengthy introduction and the editors’ narratives before each section provide a useful context for a broad history of women’s activism against the massive tide of male