Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the dynamics of power at different levels in the uptake of social protection policies in Kenya.

Paper long abstract:

Power relations has a pivotal role in explaining the uptake of social protection polices in Africa. Recently, research has shown an increased interest in understanding the determinants to the exponential growth of social protection policies on the continent. However, an analysis of the play of power as an explanatory variable remains unexplored. This paper investigates the significance of power relations in the transfer and adoption of social protection policies in Kenya. Drawing from the nexus of policy transfer and Foucauldian perspective on power, the paper investigates the extent to which power relations determined the uptake of the policy and programmes. By employing qualitative modes of enquiry, the study attempts to illuminate the dynamics of power in social protection uptake considering ideational influence, domestic mediational factors and coercive mechanisms. The study analyses how the different spaces and multi-layers of power played out in the process of transfer and subsequent adoption of the policies. The study argues that asymmetrical power relationship based on positional power balances amongst domestic and transnational actors, and institutions were central to the uptake of social protection policies.

Key words: power relations, social protection, policy transfer, Kenya, policy uptake