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thirdworldcitizen: Understanding post election violence in new democr...

Understanding post election violence in new democr... : Although post election violence has been a common occurrence in most African states, the new wave of PEV especially in Guinea and Nige...

Understanding post election violence in new democracies; governance, ethnic diversity and patronage politics

Although post election violence has been a common occurrence in most African states, the new wave of PEV especially in Guinea and Nigeria shows change in pattern. These states are the so called new democracies in Africa, states that recently underwent democratic transition (S, Omotola 2010). This wave of violence has threatened stability of these states as people took to the streets to redress the disputed elections through violence. And unfortunately in some instances it took ethnic dimensions when a specific group of people were targeted in the process not only complicating the situation but also raising concerns over ethnic violence. Post election violence in these states is linked to patrimonial nature of most African states, weak institutions and exploitation of ethnicity to invoke political support which has undermined stability and security.   Additionally, different parties and leaders in these states have employed different tactics of election malpractices that involves

Desperation emanation in the highly concentrated pool of unemployed graduates

It’s one thing to be unemployed in this tough economic times but its nerve wrecking when you have a Masters degree, an experience no employer looks at and a killer motivation. Talking of motivation, I have written so many letters of motivation to uncountable number of jobs I have applied to that I have become a self-appointed statement of purpose writer, with a keen eye for grammatical errors. But what is all this worth it if I do not have the said 5-10 year experience that is now a requirement in all advertised jobs?   Motivation, skills that you are confident of unleashing, the policy paper you can come up within an hour or less, research materials you flip out and present “magically”, the paper review you can write while sipping on a cup of cheap coffee, all this is not important sans the experience. Thus, I am forced to believe, out there are a group of Kenyans armed with experiences (PHD+10 years) more than I claim to have and qualities that are highlighted in all the jobs