Released: January 3, 2008

Crisis in Kenya

Until recently, Kenya was considered something of a success story in a troubled region; now, however, it is consumed by political and ethnic violence following last week's disputed reelection of President Mwai Kibaki. The unrest has shocked many both inside and outside Kenya who believed the election would confirm the country's reputation as East Africa's most stable developing democracy.

As a recent Pew Global Attitudes survey highlighted, this optimism was not unwarranted – before the election, Kenyans were feeling relatively good about the direction of their nation. Moreover, Kenyans were overwhelmingly optimistic about the elections – two-in-three believed they would be conducted fairly. However, as the survey also revealed, Kenyans have long been one of the major African nations most worried about tribal conflicts.

Read the complete commentary at pewresearch.org