The anti-corruption watchdog group Transparency International believes that Kenya runs the risk of becoming a “failed state” because the bogged-down political process in that country means corruption is going unattended to. This seems like a dramatic, and not especially useful, overstatement. Kenya has had more than its share of difficulties, to be sure. But the “failed state” concept ought to be a bit more rigorously applied. If anything, Kenya may be stronger than it has been at any time since the election violence from late 2007-early 2008. That does not mean the country is out of the woods. But it does mean that we should be wary of facilely resorting to the descriptive and analytical equivalent of the nuclear option.
