Kenya’s protests are not a symptom of failed democracy. They are democracy | Politics

In Kenya, as in many countries across the world, street protests are often framed as the unfortunate result of political failure. As the logic goes, the inability of state institutions to translate popular sentiment into political, legislative and regulatory action to address grievances undermines trust and leaves the streets vulnerable to eruptions of popular discontent.

In this telling, protests are viewed as a political problem with grievances expected to be legitimately addressed using…