Niels Boender

the episode highlights both the ambitions and limits that shaped Kenya’s later welfare system. The article should be useful to people writing about social policy in this period - but also those looking for some historical background on contemporary provisioning!

brought government, humanitarian, and African trade union voices together, revealing competing visions of welfare and proposing a comprehensive pension scheme inspired by postwar British models. Although never implemented due to fiscal and political constraints...

Please give my most recent journal article, on debates on late-colonial social security, in the Journal of Eastern African Studies, a read! This is the output of our "Global Socio-Economic Rights" project and a talk I gave at the @The_BIEA #abstract" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Join me this Thursday (2:30 pm East Africa, 11:30 am GMT) as I give a (online) talk to the University of Nairobi's Research Seminar on my work on Kenyan decolonisation and the settlement schemes. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

justice. In the making of the national political settlement. It shows how national elites, colonial officials and grassroots "bush politicans" were dragged into a triangular contest over the nature of independence. Give it a read (as well as its two predecessors!) (4/4)

The article takes a deep dive into the life and times of the Nyeri Democratic Party, one of the myriad district parties that formed the former predecessor to national party politics in Kenya. I argue that the NDP represents the potency of battles over post-conflict ... (3/4)

Very excited to announce the publication of my latest article—the last in a trilogy about local politics in Nyeri District in the years surrounding Kenyan independence. (1/4) cambridge.org/core/journals/…

Seeing the Mau Mau given space in a museum which is so central to British national identity - not fearing to pause on the violent, unsettling elements - is a real triumph. The exhibition is open until March 2026 in Lambeth, South London. Do come along! 6/6

From the brainstorming stages to the editing of the final script, the exhibition is a testament to the power of academic research to shape public history-making. It was a privilege to work with brilliant curators, fellow researchers across all three countries, and beyond. (5/6)

It's been incredible this week to see something that I, along with many others, have been working on for several years... "Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Malaya, Kenya, and Cyprus" exhibit at the @I_W_M in London (1/6)

#BIEAaEvents 💡The British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) in partnership with the School of History, Classics and Archaeology (HCA), and the Centre of African Studies (CAS), are delighted to invite you to the BIEA UK Annual Lecture: ‘How Koitalel Lost His Head: A Kenyan History of Heroic Resistance, 1905-2025’ with Professor David Anderson (University of Warwick) ✅ biea.ac.uk/events/biea-uk… @EdinburghUni #Koitalel #KenyanHistory #HeroicResistance #HistoryLecture #ColonialHistory #AfricanStudies #PublicLecture #AfricanHistory

#BIEAaEvents #BIEAaResearch 🌍 Behind every modern system are ancient traditions ✏️ Visit: biea.ac.uk/events/the-ori… @NielsBoender #AcademicTalks #NairobiEvents #EastAfrica

One for the diary! If you're in Nairobi, do come along to @The_BIEA to listen to me present some of my findings on the history of social security in East Africa! Alternatively, you can join online. 4 pm EAT on the 18th of September. Register here: biea.ac.uk/events/the-ori…

Do also have a look at my article published last month, in Comparative Studies in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East on ex-Mau Mau and ex-loyalist chiefs - also focusing on Nyeri in the 1960s. read.dukeupress.edu/cssaame/articl…

and an inheritor of the tradition of the Kikuyu Independent Schools Association. I explore attempts to resurrect the movement in the aftermath of Kenya's independence, in the context of efforts among political elites to reconcile post-Mau Mau grievances. Give it a read!

Very happy to see my latest article published with @JAH_editors - the second in what will be a trilogy of articles on the legacy of Mau Mau and local politics in Central Kenya. In this article, I take a look at the African Independent Pentecostal Church, the religious arm...