Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Deconcentration in Kenya Since the Beginning of Multi-Party Democracy

近三分之一的撒哈拉以南非洲国家在过去20年中改组了政府，增加了行政单位的数量。如果没有伴随权力分配的变化，这一过程被称为权力下放，并被定义为国家机器的空间分解，以及较低级别政府行政单位的倍增。为了了解这些最近的变化，本项目提出了一个深入的研究肯尼亚国家。在肯尼亚，权力下放始于1992年，当时正值该国自独立以来首次举行多党选举。在这一时期，肯尼亚行政单位的突然和大规模增加与历史趋势、发展水平或诸如安全问题或人口增长等公开的行政关切无关。此外，它并不是开始作为一个协调一致的努力，以扩大权力。在理解国家机器的这种增长时，本项目的驱动直觉是，塑造这个机构的结构和规模的权力往往不受国家行政部门的控制。在这种新的选举环境中，肯尼亚总统监督了单位的创建，并根据他们的选举需求塑造了国家。这个项目追溯了新的行政单位创建的时间和地点，以实证检验几个假设。该项目收集和汇总了行政干事一年两次的报告，其中载有行政区名称以及1990年以来的重划地图。以这种频率收集这些数据，可以描绘国家内部单位的任何变化，并将用于了解影响国家何时何地扩展其权力的动态。该项目的智力价值在于它有望推进国家建设的文献。这一分领域的大部分工作审查了独立后时代机构的发展和影响。这项工作的重点是最近的重组，以了解如何国家建设的进展，作为对制度环境的变化的反应。这项工作将对记者、决策者和民间社会组织有用。此外，更好地了解国家结构的逻辑，有望有助于政策和国际组织界目前就权力下放和权力移交问题进行的辩论。

Nearly one-third of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have restructured their governments and increased the number of administrative units in the past two decades. When unaccompanied by changes in the distribution of power, this process is known as deconcentration, and is defined as the spatial decomposition of the state apparatus, and the multiplication of administrative units at lower tiers of government. To understand these recent changes, this project proposes an in-depth study of the Kenyan state. Within Kenya, the beginning of deconcentration in 1992 coincided with the country's first multi-party elections since the independence era. The sudden and massive multiplication of administrative units in Kenya during this time period did not follow historical trends, levels of development, or stated administrative concerns such as security issues or population growth. Moreover, it did not begin as a concerted effort to extend authority. In understanding this increase in the state apparatus, the driving intuition for this project is that the power to shape the structure and size of this body often lies unchecked under a country's executive. In this new electoral environment, Kenyan presidents have overseen unit creation and shaped the state in response to their electoral needs. This project traces when and where new administrative units were created to empirically test several hypotheses. This project amasses and aggregates bi-annual administrative officer returns, which contain the names of administrative areas, as well as redistricting maps since 1990. Collected at this frequency, these data allow for the delineation of any changes in the country's internal units, and will be used to understand the dynamics that affect when and where a state extends its authority.The intellectual merit of this project lies in its promise to advance the literature of state building. Most work in this sub-field examines the development and effect of post-independence era institutions. This work focuses on recent reorganizations to understand how state building progresses as a response to changes in the institutional environment.This project will make several broader contributions. This work will be of use to journalists, policy makers, and civil society organizations. Additionally, a better understanding of the logic of state structure promises to contribute to the ongoing debates within policy and international organization circles regarding decentralization and devolution of power.