The large-scale violence that erupted in Kenya after the controversial 27th December 2007 general elections was no single major explosion. Different parts of the country were affected in very different ways. While many parts of Kenya were burning, the Coast Province remained relatively calm, despite the longstanding history of socio-political tension and even violent conflict in this part of the country.

How did the nation-wide conflict after the 2007 general elections affect Coast Province, and to what extent did it become violent? How was an even more violent escalation of conflict avoided? And what do the events in Coast Province following the December 2007 general elections tell us about the risk of future conflict in the Coast?

The study by Mwandawiro Mghanga, published in this book, shows that there is no reason to underestimate, or be complacent about, the potentials for current and future conflict in Coast Province. Even though the Coast did not belong to the hotspots of violence in 2007-08, this does by no means guarantee future peace. Observers and policy-makers should take note of the severe, and growing, risk of possibly violent conflict in Kenya’s Coast Province.