Governance and Internal Warsin Sub-Saharan Africa

Governance and Internal Warsin Sub-Saharan Africa PDF

Author: Abdulahi A. Osman

Publisher: Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd

Published: 2007-03-31

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1909112828

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The 1990s have brought unprecedented violence, economic decline and suffering for many African countries. Much of the optimism that greeted the independence decade of the 1960s, when Africa was called the "e;continent of the future"e; has turned into failure and disappointment. The increase in these conflicts has been blamed on several variables, including colonialism, ethnic diversity, end of the Cold War and economic decline. While many African countries have managed to maintain a modicum of peace, stability and growth, some have clearly failed woefully in this regard. This raises a very fundamental question: How and why did some countries manage to avert internal wars while others did not? The book measures and provides rich details of governance from contextual, structural and policy perspectives. It systematically and uniformly compares two categories of countries: those that experienced internal war and those that did not.

A Governance Approach to Civil Service Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa

A Governance Approach to Civil Service Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF

Author: Mamadou Dia

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1993-01-01

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9780821326305

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Inefficient civil service administrations are jeopardizing future development in many African countries. The reforms suggested in this paper would make these administrations more accountable, enforce the rule of law, and reward bureaucrats solely on their

Real Governance and Practical Norms in Sub-Saharan Africa

Real Governance and Practical Norms in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF

Author: Tom De Herdt

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-15

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1317527739

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Although international development discourse considers the state as a crucial development actor, there remains a significant discrepancy between the official norms of the state and public services and the actual practices of political elites and civil servants. This text interrogates the variety of ways in which state policies and legal norms have been translated into the set of practical norms which make up real governance in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that the concept of practical norms is an appropriate tool for an ethnographic investigation of public bureaucracies, interactions between civil servants and users, and the daily functioning of the state in Africa. It demonstrates that practical norms are usually different from official norms, complementing, bypassing and even contradicting them. In addition, it explores the positive and negative effects of different aspects of this ‘real governance’. This text will be of key interest to academics, students and researchers in the fields of development, political science, anthropology and development studies, African studies, international comparative studies, implementation studies, and public policy.

Good Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa

Good Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa PDF

Author: Ms. Monique Newiak

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2022-03-18

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 1513584057

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Governance and corruption issues have taken the center stage in international discussions, especially after the adoption by the IMF in 2018 of a new framework for engagement on governance and corruption. Sound institutions that guarantee integrity in the management of public affairs are critical on the path toward higher and more inclusive growth. Corruption undermines the quality of institutions, weakens the effectiveness of government programs, and compromises social trust in government policies. Indeed, countries around the world that improved their governance systems are reaping a “governance dividend,” and governance-enhancing reformist countries in sub-Saharan Africa include Botswana, Rwanda, and Seychelles. In addition, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Angola demonstrate that important reforms are possible, including in fragile environments. The importance of good governance has acquired even more importance as countries try to introduce policies to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Special attention to governance in an emergency context, including situations associated with conflict, other health crises and natural disasters, is therefore essential. Innovation and new technologies are critical instruments that policymakers can use in their efforts to improve governance and transparency.

African Reckoning

African Reckoning PDF

Author: Francis M. Deng

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2001-06-07

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9780815723073

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This book investigates how changing norms of sovereignty may promote better governance in Africa. It begins by tracing the evolution of the concept of sovereignty and how, in the post-Cold War era, sovereignty has been redefined to emphasize the responsibility of the state to manage conflict and protect human rights. African Reckoning includes assessments of how state actors in Africa measure up to the norms inherent in the notion of sovereignty as responsibility. The book also examines the question of accountability at the regional and international levels. The authors conclude that since the power of oppressed people to hold their governments accountable is very limited, the international community has a responsibility to provide victims of internal conflict and gross violations of human rights with essential protection and assistance. Accordingly, the book expounds on the normative principles of responsible sovereignty, international mechanisms and strategies for their enforcement, and empirical evidence about the performance of governments as measured by the requirements of responsible sovereignty. Contributors include Richard Falk, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, James Rosenau, Goran Hyden, Michael Chege, and John D. Steinbruner.

Civil Wars in Africa

Civil Wars in Africa PDF

Author: Taisier Mohamed Ahmed Ali

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0773517774

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A collection of case studies of nine African countries, Civil Wars in Africa provides a comparative perspective on the causes of civil war and the processes by which internal conflict may be resolved or averted. The book focuses on the wars in Ethiopia, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda as well as the experiences of Tanzania and Zimbabwe, where civil war was averted, to underline conditions under which conflict can most successfully be managed. John Kiyaga-Nsubuga focuses on Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement regime's attempt to bring peace to Uganda. John Prendergast and Mark Duffield look at Ethiopia's long civil war and the role of liberation politics and external engagement. Bruce Jones studies the ethnic roots of the civil war in Rwanda. Elwood Dunn explores political manipulation and ethnic differences as causes of civil strife in Liberia. John Saul examines the role of Western powers in establishing peace in Mozambique. Hussein Adam describes the collapse of the authoritarian regime in Somalia and the subsequent rise of inter-clan and sub-clan rivalry. Taisier Ali and Robert Matthews argue that the forty-year conflict in Sudan is much more complex than the usual view that it results from the pitting of the Arab, Islamic North against the African, Christian South. Shifting the focus to how internal unrest may be managed, Hevina Dashwood examines government initiatives undertaken to maintain stability in Zimbabwe and Cranford Pratt describes the policies and institutions developed by Nyerere that enabled Tanzania to avoid ethnic, regional, and religious factionalism and intra-elite rivalries. James Busumtwi-Sam explores multilateral third-party intervention, highlighting the changing role of the OAU and the United Nations and their effectiveness in averting war. The concluding chapter draws together findings from the individual case studies and incorporates them into the larger corpus of the literature. Taisier M. Ali, formerly professor of political economy at the University of Khartoum, is presently a visiting scholar in the Department of Political Science, University of Toronto. Robert O. Matthews is professor of political science, University of Toronto.

Comprehending and Mastering African Conflicts

Comprehending and Mastering African Conflicts PDF

Author: Adebayo Adedeji

Publisher: Zed Books

Published: 1999-06-01

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781856497633

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More and more African countries are falling prey to civil war and the disintegration of government authority and social order. Here, for the first time, teams of African scholars based in those countries principally affected examine what is happening. Their findings are only the first step in an ongoing, policy-relevant process of investigation and action. They share a belief that a development agenda designed to improve the lives of the people and strengthen national economies cannot be effectively pursued until the continent masters its problems of governance. The first aim of these scholars has been to understand the complex and diverse roots of the conflicts. To this end, they analyse a cross-section of such conflicts from various countries -- Angola, Burundi and Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Somalia and Somaliland. They also reflect more generally on the obstacles to comprehending conflict in Africa. Possible ways of anticipating, containing and indeed preventing new conflicts are discussed. The experience of successful transitions to peace are investigated in a number of cases, including Northern Mali and Nigeria after its civil war of 1967-70, as are issues such as the part played by NGOs in Rwanda and the role of regional and international cooperation. There is also much discussion of what new research is needed and proposals for mastering conflict in future. These range over a wide diversity of measures, including, for example, ideas like a moratorium on the importation of arms, trans-frontier development projects, political reform that creates real space for effective participation by different social groups, and governmental decentralisation. This volume, which is ACDESS's first output under this research programme, represents a significant contribution by African intellectuals to resolving the most intractable problems confronting Sub-Saharan Africa. Its appearance could not be more timely.