“Kwa ground vitu ni different”: supportive structures and inhibiting factors in young people’s civic and political participation in Kenya

Lawler, Mark (2026) “Kwa ground vitu ni different”: supportive structures and inhibiting factors in young people’s civic and political participation in Kenya. Ed.D thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This research explores what civic and political engagement means to young people in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Rift Valley, in the western part of Kenya - the current forms this takes, and what young people seek to achieve through civic and political activity. Through a detailed study of individual behaviour, using in-depth interviews, group discussions and observation of both online and offline public forums, it examines the enabling factors in the wider socio-political environment and the critical blockages to what young people consider meaningful civic and political engagement. Among the challenges faced by young people seeking their place in society is a civic and political culture which has historically marginalised them. This project seeks to understand how young people navigate these challenges and participate in the opportunities afforded them to make their voices heard, to influence policy and legislation, to hold their political leaders to account, and to take up positions of civic and political leadership themselves.

Taking seriously the everyday Kenyan insight captured in the phrase ‘kwa ground vitu ni different’ (things are different on the ground), this study adopts a critical realist theoretical framework based on the writings of Roy Bhaskar (1998; 2008; 2017), which distinguishes between empirical, actual, and real domains, offering ontological depth for analysing youth civic and political participation within this context. The enquiry incorporates concepts such as post-coloniality, agency, and power to situate individual experiences in relation to broader structural and cultural factors. The research employs a qualitative design and, in accordance with the critical realist approach, selects methods appropriate for the explanatory goals of the study. Data is analysed using a thematic analysis framework adapted from Wiltshire and Ronkainen (2021), identifying experiential, inferential, and dispositional themes aligned with Bhaskar’s ontological domains. The study presents a conceptual model representing the complexity of factors influencing youth participation, extending beyond the categories of "barriers” and “enablers".

The research highlighted that enduring postcolonial and neo-patrimonial power relations fundamentally shape how youth in Elgeyo-Marakwet County participate in civic and political affairs, producing limited formal opportunities and encouraging them to turn to informal and digital spaces which are themselves not entirely unproblematic. This points to a need for further research into the processes through which transformative practices might be embedded sustainably within Kenya’s civic and political ecosystem including approaches to civic education - whether delivered through schools, community initiatives, digital platforms, or peer-led programmes - that can sustain long-term democratic participation and counter prevailing patterns of disinterest, disengagement and dissatisfaction.

• Item Type: Thesis (Ed.D)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: J Political Science > JA Political science (General); L Education > L Education (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Supervisor's Name: Perry, Professor Mia and McGrath, Professor Simon
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-86053
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 23 Jun 2026 10:59
• Last Modified: 23 Jun 2026 11:50
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.86053
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/86053