In search of nation: the political identity and social mobilization of Kenya's Maasai

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the factors that have contributed to the formation of the Maasai ethnic identity and social mobilization in Kenya. Through the use of a methodology that employs interviews and ethnographic work with the Maasai, this research brings to light the perspectives, experiences, attitudes and ideologies that drive collective social action within the Maasai community, and the strategies and action repertoires that characterize the Maasai political movement in Kenya. This study also sheds light on the factors that work to reinforce ethnic solidarity, and ethnically-based social mobilization and political claim-making among the Maasai within the current social, political and economic environment in Kenya.