ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a state-societal perspective to the analysis of the process of decolonization in Kenya. It focuses on problems involved in conceptualizing the state, especially the colonial state, and on the nature of the decolonization process in Kenya. Both the collaboration and Marxist theories offer important insights for the analysis of the colonial state. Marxist perspectives on peripheral capitalism generally see the state as acting in a ‘relatively autonomous’ manner to link peripheral societies to an expanding world capitalism in the interests of a dominant class, usually the ‘metropolitan bourgeoisie,’ and to stabilize the overall system. The relevance of Mau Mau to the decolonization process ramified beyond the borders of Kenya. The Mau Mau rebellion was the first blow against white settler power in East and Central Africa. The indigenization of accumulation in Kenya coincided with the continuing internationalization of the Kenyan political economy.
