How political is the "middle class" in Kenya?

Abstract

Abstract

en The current debate presents the middle class in the Global South as a driver of democratic change and the core of civil society. The activities of NGOs, or student protests, for instance, seem to support this notion. However, these examples should not be overstretched. Before confirming the idea that the ‘middle class’ is a carrier of political protest and a driver of democratic change, we need to answer at least two questions. Is the ‘middle class’ really a class in the strict sociological sense, with a common class consciousness or just a group with a middle-income: ‘middle income group’? And are the protests really representative of the middle-income group? Taking Kenya as an example, we cannot identify a ‘middle class’ in the strict sense of the sociological class concept. Neither does the political commitment of the middleincome group follow socio-economic differences. More important are patterns of socio-cultural differentiation that can be conceptualised as socio-cultural ‘milieus’.