Since 2005, Africa shows a trend towards decreasing quality of democracy and continuing unconstitutional government changes. In this context, it is important that governance continues to be promoted. Within the African Union (AU), strengthening governance is high on the agenda. On the 15th of February 2012 the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (the Charter) came into force. The adoption of the Charter was followed by the official launch of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and its African Governance Platform (AGP), in May 2012, designed to increase coordination between the different institutions with a ...
++ SERIES: BUILDING THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK++ Views from African consultations on the post-2015 development agenda As the date of 2015 approaches, the international community is analysing the results of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were omnipresent in the development debate since 2000. But many are already looking further, beyond the magic date of 2015. Multi-stakeholder consultations are taking place in almost 100 countries worldwide with a view to shape the new development agenda beyond 2015. The information that will be generated through this consultative process should influence the proceedings of the UN International High-Level ...
I attended a Seminar and Masterclass at the Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerpen on March 25 on “The Practical Norms of real governance in Africa” Olivier de Sardan, a renowned anthropologist whose comparative research in West Africa focused on governance processes, and especially on the everyday workings of African bureaucracies at the local level. His thinking feeds into the innovative Africa Power & Politics Programme (APPP), a multi-country consortium sponsored by DFID, dedicated to new thinking about governance and development in Africa with the central claim that in promoting good governance, ...
This Afrobarometer working paper offers a first comprehensive account of popular voting intentions in Africa’s new electoral democracies. With reference to comparative aggregate and survey data from 16 countries, it shows that competitive elections in Africa are more than mere ethnic censuses or simple economic referenda. Instead, Africans engage in both ethnic and economic voting. Not surprisingly, people who belong to the ethnic group in power intend to support the ruling party, in contrast to those who feel a sense of discrimination against their cultural group. But, to an even greater extent, would-be voters in ...
At the heart of current policy thinking about Africa there is a significant knowledge gap concerning governance and development. This Institute of Development Studies Bulletin is concerned with what can be done about that, drawing on the initial experience of a new research venture, the Africa Power and Politics Programme (APPP). The APPP is committed to discovering forms of governance that work better for development than those prescribed by the current ‘good governance’ orthodoxy. It aims to do so chiefly by examining the range of post-colonial experience in sub-Saharan Africa focusing especially on under-appreciated patterns ...
When used carefully governance indicators provide a valuable source of information on governance conditions and trends. However, when used carelessly they can misinform and mislead. The purpose of this brief from The Policy Practice is to make sense of the different types of governance indicator and how they are used and misused. It warns against the commission of ‘seven deadly sins’ representing the most common pitfalls. The paper puts forward guidelines to ensure a more careful use and interpretation of governance indicators, and highlights the need for providers of indicators to be subject to greater ...
This book from the South African Institute of International Affairs explores how this complex process has evolved from theory to practice in a variety of contexts. In a combination of case studies and transversal analysis, multiple voices from different African civil society actors — mainly analysts, activists and journalists — examine the process from their specialised perspective. The chapters tease out what can be learned about governance in Africa from these experiences, and the extent to which the APRM has changed the way that governments and civil society groups engage. This book demonstrates that undergoing ...
The latest issue of the Overseas Development Institute’s Development Policy Review Journal includes nine key articles in the field of aid, institutions and governance, with an introductory essay by ODI’s Director of the Africa Power & Politics Programme, David Booth. It explains that understanding of the relationship between institutions and economic progress made major headway in the 1990s. Since 2000 the pace of intellectual advance has been stepped up, with fresh thinking especially on governance systems and the role of aid. Three particular topics are addressed: the rise and transformation of institutional theory; aid, governance ...
Dominique Dellicour of EuropeAid’s Governance, Security, Justice, Human Rights and Gender unit introduces the EC policy document ‘Analysing and Addressing Governance in Sector Operations’ in this video interview. “Democratic governance is more and more at the centre stage of sector operations” she says adding that “There was more and more realisation that although technical and economic aspects are important in defining a sector operation, the sector governance set up and the related politics do matter substantially.” In a related video, ECDPM’s Jean Bossuyt provides an informative and instructive presentation on the practicalities of putting the ...
