Elites and the Politics of Accountability in Africa
Author: Wale Adebanwi
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 2021-05-24
Total Pages: 425
ISBN-13: 0472054813
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Studying elites through the framework of accountability
Lanterna Rally
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Perspectives on the Legislature and the Prospects of Accountability in Nigeria and South Africa
Author: Omololu Fagbadebo
Publisher: Springer
Published: 2018-08-03
Total Pages: 257
ISBN-13: 3319935097
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book examines the problem of accountability in two African political systems, South Africa and Nigeria. Despite the principle of separation of powers and the doctrine of checks and balances among the institutions of governance, a burgeoning governance crisis stifles the potential of accountability and good governance. Legislative oversight in the two countries remains largely ineffective while citizens are left to face the consequences of the mismanagement of public resources by political elites. This book critically assesses how the legislative institutions in South Africa and Nigeria have been unable to harness the requisite constitutional powers to ensure accountability in government and explores the feasibility of their effectiveness. The book begins with a comparative analysis of the principles, tradition, and powers associated with legislative capability in South Africa and Nigeria. The chapters explore constitutional provisions and analyze the capacity of each legislature to function within its respective political environment. The book also examines the process and challenges associated with the various measures and mechanisms available for legislatures to ensure accountability in the two countries. Researchers, scholars and students of African politics will find this book useful in their understanding of the problems associated with the simmering governance crisis in South Africa and Nigeria.
The African Exception
Author: Ulf Engel
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-11-28
Total Pages: 174
ISBN-13: 1351147900
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Governance has become an important concept in the politics of African development. It is therefore a crucial concept for social science analyses focusing on Africa. In public discourse Africa's future is being shaped by a combination of external interventions backed by African elites who cooperate with the donors, whose understanding of the importance of 'good governance' they share. This groundbreaking book disentangles the analytical aspects of governance from its political and normative connotations. The 'African exception' - the difference in 'development' between Africa and other regions of the South - can be understood by analysis focusing upon the specific forms of governance played out in politics and economics. The perspective of neo-patrimonialism is crucial but not sufficient here. The first section of the book explores African governance in two functional spheres: the political realm and the economic. Section two looks at new areas of governance in Africa: violent social spaces, HIV/AIDS and entrepreneurial urban governance.
Elites, Institutions and the Quality of Government
Author: Carl Dahlström
Publisher: Springer
Published: 2015-08-11
Total Pages: 311
ISBN-13: 1137556285
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →To a large extent, elite politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen hold the fortunes of their societies in their hands. This edited volume describes how formal and informal institutions affect elite behaviour, which in turn affects corruption and the quality of government.
Voice and Power in Africa's Democracy
Author: Said Adejumobi
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-08-16
Total Pages: 248
ISBN-13: 131718405X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Africa has made notable progress in its nascent democracy but with uneven performance across countries. However, across the board, challenges abound. Central to Africa’s checkered democratic narrative is the weakness of its democratic institutions, participatory mechanisms and accountability platforms. This book interrogates these elements with the role and capacity of the parliament, political parties, media, freedom of information law, trade union movements, gender empowerment mechanisms and accountability methods and processes all under examination. The weakness of democratic institutions has had a corrosive effect on political accountability and limits the scope for popular participation in governance. In many countries, innovative practices, and new social and political encounters are emerging that challenge old institutional cultures, promote reforms and demand accountability from the governing elite. The book captures these varied, innovative patterns of democratic change. With first hand knowledge and expertise of the continent, the contributors analyze the issues, trends, problems and challenges in these critical areas of Africa’s democratic growth. The conclusion is that strengthening democratic institutions, opening up the political space for enhanced political participation and ensuring political accountability will determine the course, prospects and quality of Africa’s budding democracy.
Legislative Development in Africa
Author: Ken Ochieng' Opalo
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2019-06-20
Total Pages: 295
ISBN-13: 110849210X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Examined the development of legislatures under colonial rule, post-colonial autocratic single party rule, and multi-party politics 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
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →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.
Accountable Government in Africa
Author: Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa
Publisher: United Nations Univ
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 302
ISBN-13: 9789280812053
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book brings together a number of leading experts in the fields of public law, political science and democratization studies to identify ways of making African governments accountable and describe the extent to which these mechanisms work in practice. It presents new knowledge about legal and political developments in a number of African countries, relevant to the policy goal of developing and deepening democratic governance and accountable government on the continent. This book will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners in the fields of public law, public administration, political studies and African studies.
Africa’s Big Men
Author: Kenneth Kalu
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-03-20
Total Pages: 272
ISBN-13: 1351363719
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book spotlights, analyzes and explains varying forms and patterns of state-society relations on the African continent, taking as point of departure the complexities created by the emergence, proliferation and complicated interactions of so-called ‘big men’ across Africa's fifty-four states. The contributors interrogate the evolution of Africa’s big men; the role of the big men in Africa’s political and economic development; and the relationship between the state, the big men and the citizens. Throughout the chapters the contributors engage with a number of questions from different disciplinary and methodological orientations. How did these states evolve to exhibit various deformities in their composition, functioning and in their relations with the societies that they govern? What roles did Atlantic and other slavery and European colonialism play in creating states that are unable to display the right and good relationships with citizens in civil society? Why did these forms of predatory state-society relations continue to thrive in Africa after the end of Atlantic slave trade and subsequent colonialism? Why did the emerging African leaders at independence fail to effectively dismantle the structures of exploitation and expropriation that were the defining features of slavery and colonialism? Who are Africa’s ‘big men’, and what are their trajectories? This book is essential reading for all students and scholars of African politics, public policy and administration, political economy, and democratisation.
Routledge Handbook of Democratization in Africa
Author: Gabrielle Lynch
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-07-02
Total Pages: 684
ISBN-13: 135162363X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This volume explores the issues and debates surrounding the ongoing processes of democratization in sub-Saharan Africa, illuminating the central dynamics characterizing Africa’s democratic experiments, and considering the connections between democratization and economic, social, and cultural developments on the continent. Reflecting the diverse and rich nature of this field of study, the Handbook of Democratization in Africa features more than thirty contributions structured into six thematic sections: The politics and paths of regime development Institutional dynamics Political mobilization and voting dynamics The politics of identity Social forces from below The consequences of democracy. Chapters offer overviews of the key scholarship on particular topics, including central insights from the latest research, and provide suggestions for those interested in further inquiry. The material includes attention to broad cross-continental patterns, for example with respect to public opinion, political violence, or the role of different institutions and actors. It also includes rich case material, drawing on and highlighting the experiences of a diverse collection of countries. Encouraging a comprehensive view of key concerns and enhancing understanding of particular issues, the Handbook of Democratization in Africa represents a critical resource for experts and students of African politics, democratization, and African studies.
