Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2004 The Politics of HIV/AIDS and Implications for Democracy in Kenya Wambuii Henry Kiragu Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the African Studies Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Kiragu, Wambuii Henry, "The Politics of HIV/AIDS and Implications for Democracy in Kenya" (2004). Dissertations. 1117. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1117 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE POLITICS OF HIV/AIDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DEMOCRACY IN KENYA by Wambuii Henry Kiragu A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2004 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE POLITICS OF HIV/AIDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DEMOCRACY IN KENYA Wambuii Henry Kiragu, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2004 Democratic consolidation in newly transitioned democracies has traditionally been attributed to widely accepted political and legal mechanisms, like elections and constitutions. Existing literature on democratization in sub-Saharan Africa is preoccupied with these mechanisms as prime indicators for democratic takeoff in specific countries. Hardly any attention has been paid to other less openly political mechanisms, such as the response to external shocks, as potential sources of institutional development that could advance democratic practices.