Research Paper on:
Political Participation and Political Control in Kenya and Tanzania

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
In the post-independence period, African governments have placed more emphasis on political control than on political participation. This  observation is particularly relevant to Kenya and Tanzania. These countries concentration on controlling their citizenry rather than honing their international relations makes it unlikely that either will shape or  influence to any great degree international affairs of the twenty-first century. Kenya serves as the first example of the contention presented  above. Kenya achieved her independence with all out revolt in the 1940s. Immediately after obtaining her independence from Great Britain Kenya enjoyed economic promise. Beginning in the  early 1970s, however, Kenya began to experience a decline in her economic performance (U.S. State Department, 1998). The problems grew particularly intense between 1991 and 1993, resulting in fact  in the worst economic performance since independence (U.S. State Department, 1998). Many of the problems Kenya faced in these early years  were a result of government intrusion into the private sector (U.S. State Department, 1998). The problems continued into subsequent years as well as Kenya became more debt encumbered and  defaulted on her agreement with the International Monetary Fund (U.S. State Department, 1998). In 1997 the IMF suspended Kenyas Structural Adjustment  Facility and the World Bank reacted similarly (U.S. State Department, 1998). Corruption and inefficient use of government funds remains a central component of Kenyas problems. Her concentration on  internal control and her refusal to take responsibility for her own debts are just two of the problems holding her back from world-wide political participation.