Syracuse University SURFACE Pan African Studies - Theses College of Arts and Sciences 5-2013 Deepening Democracy at the Grassroots Level: Citizen Participation in State Devolved Funds (CDF) In Kenya Fredrick Omondi Otieno Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/panaf_theis Part of the African Studies Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Otieno, Fredrick Omondi, "Deepening Democracy at the Grassroots Level: Citizen Participation in State Devolved Funds (CDF) In Kenya" (2013). Pan African Studies - Theses. 1. https://surface.syr.edu/panaf_theis/1 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts and Sciences at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pan African Studies - Theses by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract That democracy is the most suitable form of government is no longer contested. However many questions shaking this global consensus continue to abound. Why is there a growing cynicism and apathy with the notion of democracy across the globe? Why has the concept of democracy had to attract adjectives that attempt to qualify or categorize it in different parts of the world? And perhaps most importantly, if in deed democracy is such a good “thing” how can it be made meaningful? This thesis looks at citizen participation in a state devolved fund (CDF) in Kenya as a space through which democracy at the grassroots level can be deepened and hence contribute to the growth of a national democratic culture. The CDF program in Kenya was established in 2003 when a new regime with overwhelming national mandate replaced an authoritarian neopatrimonial system that had been in existence for twenty four years.