THE MEDIA AND FOREIGN POLICY DECISION MAKERS IN KENYA

Abstract

Foreign policy decision making has been the prerogative of heads of state, the decision makers in most states. Many decision makers have admitted that the media has forced them to respond to issues that were not even in their agenda, have been forced to take decisions and policies that were not even deliberated upon, especially after the media framing the issues in a way that affected public opinion, and also that the modern media has changed the whole environment of policy making because of the fast flow of newsstand modern technology. Involving the media, consulting and at times responding to the media, has been the order of the day. Notably, a lot of work documented on this new role of the media has been in relation to developed countries. Few documented materials can attest to this influence in developing countries, as much as the impact is witnessed and confessed by the players of foreign policy decision making. Kenya is considered to have a media industry that is vibrant as compared to most African countries, and the rest of the developing countries. Since independence, there have been three presidents, Kenyatta, Moi and, currently, Kibaki. During Kenyatta’s and Moi’s tenure, the media had somehow been suppressed and had less chance, even though some did, to influence the policy makers. Kibaki’s tenure has seen the advent of a vibrant media with more freedom, even though some media players have misused the new freedoms. It is during Kibaki’s tenure that this study wishes to study on the instances when media has set the agenda, been the public watchdog, influenced public opinion and promoted democracy. The study has established that the media has influenced policymakers in Kenya. It is time that foreign policy decision makers realized the power that media has and used it to their own advantage.