Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Africa
Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Africa

Author: Mawere, Munyaradzi

Publisher: Langaa RPCIG

Published: 2015-10-24

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 9956763004

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Questions surrounding democracy, governance, and development especially in the view of Africa have provoked acrimonious debates in the past few years. It remains a perennial question why some decades after political independence in Africa the continent continues experiencing bad governance, lagging behind socioeconomically, and its democracy questionable. We admit that a plethora of theories and reasons, including iniquitous and malicious ones, have been conjured in an attempt to explain and answer the questions as to why Africa seems to be lagging behind other continents in issues pertaining to good governance, democracy and socio-economic development. Yet, none of the theories and reasons proffered so far seems to have provided enduring solutions to Africa’s diverse complex problems and predicaments. This book dissects and critically examines the matrix of Africa’s multifaceted problems on governance, democracy and development in an attempt to proffer enduring solutions to the continent’s long-standing political and socio-economic dilemmas and setbacks.

Traditional Institutions in Contemporary African Governance
Traditional Institutions in Contemporary African Governance

Author: Kidane Mengisteab

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-06-26

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 135185464X

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Most African economies range from moderately advanced capitalist systems with modern banks and stock markets to peasant and pastoral subsistent systems. Most African countries are also characterized by parallel institutions of governance – one is the state sanctioned (formal) system and the other is the traditional system, which is adhered to, primarily but not exclusively, by the segments of the population in the subsistence peasant and pastoral economic systems. Traditional Institutions in Contemporary African Governance examines critical issues that are largely neglected in the literature, including why traditional institutions have remained entrenched, what the socioeconomic implications of fragmented institutional systems are, and whether they facilitate or impede democratization. The contributors investigate the organizational structure of traditional leadership, the level of adherence of the traditional systems, how dispute resolution, decision-making, and resource allocation are conducted in the traditional system, gender relations in the traditional system, and how the traditional institutions interact with the formal institutions. Filling a conspicuous gap in the literature on African governance, this book will be of great interest to policy makers as well as students and scholars of African politics, political economy and democratization.

The Everyday State in Africa
The Everyday State in Africa

Author: Daniel Mulugeta

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-30

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9781032174921

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This book offers a new understanding of the workings of the everyday Ethiopian state through analysis of the everyday politics of state-society relations.

Governance and Leadership in Africa
Governance and Leadership in Africa

Author: Robert I. Rotberg

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2014-09-29

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 1422288854

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Many of the problems in Africa today, including widespread poverty and civil unrest, can be traced to the continents legacy of bad governance. In the post-independence period, authoritarian strongmen took control of many countries, enriching themselves and their cronies by exploiting the peoples labor and their countrys resources. In recent years, however, a growing number of African states have embraced democratic principles and established transparent and open governments. In this book the noted Africa scholar Dr. Robert Rotberg examines the current state of governance and leadership in Africa. He discusses the various types of government found in the continent, clearly showing the correlation between the quality of a countrys leadership and the quality of life enjoyed by that countrys people.

Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Africa
Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Africa

Author: Nicholas Awortwi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-20

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1351664522

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For millions of Africans, the social situation is dire. Over half of the population of Sub-Sahara Africa do not have access to improved sanitation facilities, and about a quarter are undernourished. If factors such as armed conflicts in the region, the impact of climate change, or the widespread presence of a broad range of infectious agents are considered, it shows a large number of Africans living in very fragile circumstances, highly vulnerable to any kind of shock or rapid change. Small, informal community groups deliver the majority of social protection services in Africa, but most of these are disqualified from official recognition, support or integration with state systems because they do not "fit" the modern management model of accountability. The studies in this book challenge that verdict. This book outlines insightful and valuable research generated by teams of established scholars. It is divided into nine studies exploring the governance of non-state actors in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. It examines the numerous self-help groups and their effectiveness, and argues that if the modern management model is right – why do so many Africans avoid interacting with it? The book provides a warning against undermining what is possibly the single greatest social protection resource throughout Africa in the name of "reform", and suggests that the modern welfare establishment needs to adapt to (and learn from) self-help groups - not the other way around. Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Africa will be of interest to donors, policy makers, practitioners, and students and scholars of African Studies, social policy and politics.

Dimensions of African Statehood
Dimensions of African Statehood

Author: Randi Solhjell

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-08-06

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 0429870965

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This book argues that the way in which we use the concept of "state" in many African countries must involve a deeper engagement of the complex workings of state–society relations, rather than a master narrative of European state formation. Dimensions of African Statehood explores the concept of "statehood" as a set of daily practices that govern and generate effects through the voices of those performing and living the state. The book is based on extensive, firsthand research on the delivery of and access to public goods as expressions of statehood in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A public good, a field long dominated by economic models, can be seen as a power relation rather than a universal, positive good. By unpacking the meaning of "whose public," the book offers an avenue for a dynamic and multilayered understanding of practices that express and shape statehood. The assessment of statehood as presented in this book is an invitation to contribute to the new era of what statehood entails in regions different from the Global North. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of politics, African studies, and governance.

Disrupting Africa
Disrupting Africa

Author: Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-07-29

Total Pages: 665

ISBN-13: 1009064223

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In the digital era, many African countries sit at the crossroads of a potential future that will be shaped by digital-era technologies with existing laws and institutions constructed under conditions of colonial and post-colonial authoritarian rule. In Disrupting Africa, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa examines this intersection and shows how it encompasses existing and new zones of contestation based on ethnicity, religion, region, age, and other sources of division. Arewa highlights specific collisions between the old and the new, including in the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, which involved young people engaging with varied digital era technologies who provoked a violent response from rulers threatened by the prospect of political change. In this groundbreaking work, Arewa demonstrates how lawmaking and legal processes during and after colonialism continue to frame contexts in which digital technologies are created, implemented, regulated, and used in Africa today.

Governance and the postcolony
Governance and the postcolony

Author: David Everatt

Publisher: Wits University Press

Published: 2019-08-01

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 1776143442

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Civil society, NGOs, governments, and multilateral institutions all repeatedly call for improved or ‘good’ governance – yet they seem to speak past one another. Governance is in danger of losing all meaning precisely because it means many things to different people in varied locations This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, the postcolony takes many forms, reflecting the imperial project with painful accuracy. Offering a set of multidisciplinary analyses of governance in different sectors (crisis management, water, food security, universities), in different locales across sub-Saharan Africa, and from different theoretical approaches (network to adversarial network governance); this volume makes a useful addition to the growing debates on ‘how to govern’. It steers away from offering a ‘correct’ definition of governance, or from promoting a particular position on postcoloniality. It gives no neat conclusion, but invites readers to draw their own conclusions based on these differing approaches to and analyses of governance in the postcolony. As a robust, critical assessment of power and accountability in the sub-Saharan context, Governance and the Postcolony: Views from Africa brings together topical case studies that will be a valuable resource for those working in the field of African international relations, public policy, public management and administration.

State Legitimacy and Development in Africa
State Legitimacy and Development in Africa

Author: Pierre Englebert

Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9781588261311

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Englebert argues that differences in economic performance both within Africa and across the developing world can be linked to differences in historical state legitimacy.

E-Governance in Africa, from Theory to Action
E-Governance in Africa, from Theory to Action

Author: Gianluca Misuraca

Publisher: IDRC

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1552503690

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Integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into governance processes can greatly enhance the delivery of public services to all citizens. ICT integration will not only improve the performance of governance systems, it will also transform relationships amongst stakeholders, thereby influencing policymaking processes and regulatory frameworks. In the developing world, however, the potential of ICTs for effective governance remains largely unexplored and unexploited. This book presents the context, theory, and current thinking on the interaction between ICTs and local governance, particularly in Africa. It discusses the shift from OC governmentOCO to OC e-governance, OCO describes the role of local-level authorities, and presents the benefits and limitations of introducing ICTs in government operations. Case studies from Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda describe local governance/ICTs projects executed by civil society organizations, academic institutions, and government authorities. Drawing from the findings in these case studies and from the introductory research and original conceptual framework, the book presents a series of conclusions and recommendation on the future of effective ICTs use for better governance and improved economic development at the local level. This book will be of interest to professionals, practitioners, and policy advisors at local and national government levels in developing countries (particularly in Africa); international organizations staff, bilateral aid agencies, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, and private sector; researchers, academics, students, and professors of public administration and governance in Africa and throughout the world."