Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Africa

Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Africa
Author: Mawere, Munyaradzi
Publisher: Langaa RPCIG
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2015-10-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9956763004

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.

Combating Corruption

Combating Corruption
Author: John Hatchard
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014
Genre: Administrative law
ISBN: 9781781004487

This is a truly excellent book: wide-ranging, meticulous scholarship, very well written and easy to read. It should be on the desks of every senior civil servant, government lawyer and politician in every African country. After this book, there is no excuse for not having in place the necessary legal framework and equally important, for not using that legal framework to combat corruption.' - Patrick McAuslan, Birkbeck University of London, UK Drawing on numerous recent examples of good and bad practice from around the continent, this insightful volume explores the legal issues involved in developing and enhancing good governance and accountability within African states, as well as addressing the need for other states worldwide to demonstrate the 'transnational political will' to support these efforts. John Hatchard considers the need for good governance, accountability and integrity in both the public and private sector. He studies how these issues are reflected in both the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. The book demonstrates that despite the vast majority of African states being party to these conventions, in practice, many of them continue to experience problems of bad governance, corporate bribery and the looting of state assets. It explores how the 'art of persuasion' can help develop the necessary political will through which to address these challenges at both the national and transnational levels. This unique and influential book will be of worldwide interest to those studying law, politics or business, as well as legal practitioners, policymakers, senior public officials, parliamentarians, law reformers, civil society organizations and the corporate sector. Contents Introduction 1. Setting the Scene: Law and Persuasion 2. Law and Governance in Africa: Supporting Integrity and Combating Corruption 3. Preventive Measures: Maintaining Integrity in the Public Service 4. When Things Go Wrong: Addressing Integrity Problems in the Public Service 5. Constitutions, Constitutional Rights and Combating Corruption: Exploring the Links 6. Investigating and Prosecuting Corruption Related Offences: Challenges and Realities 7. National Anti-corruption Bodies: A Key Good Governance Requirement? 8. Judges: Independence, Integrity and Accountability 9. Combating Corruption: 'Persuasion' and the Private Sector 10. Preventing the Looting of State Assets: Combating Corruption-Related Money Laundering 11. Preventing Public Officials from Enjoying their Proceeds of Corruption 12. Law, Political Will and the Art of Persuasion Bibliography Index

Corruption and Development in Africa

Corruption and Development in Africa
Author: K. Hope
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1999-08-18
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0333982444

Bringing together a distinguished cast of contributors, the book provides an authoritative and definitive analysis of the theory, practice and development impact of corruption in Africa. Combating corruption is demonstrated to require greater priority in the quest for African development.

Political Corruption in Africa

Political Corruption in Africa
Author: Inge Amundsen
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2019
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 178897252X

Analysing political corruption as a distinct but separate entity from bureaucratic corruption, this timely book separates these two very different social phenomena in a way that is often overlooked in contemporary studies. Chapters argue that political corruption includes two basic, critical and related processes: extractive and power-preserving corruption.

Democracy in Africa

Democracy in Africa
Author: Nic Cheeseman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2015-05-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1316239489

This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the history of democracy in Africa and explains why the continent's democratic experiments have so often failed, as well as how they could succeed. Nic Cheeseman grapples with some of the most important questions facing Africa and democracy today, including whether international actors should try and promote democracy abroad, how to design political systems that manage ethnic diversity, and why democratic governments often make bad policy decisions. Beginning in the colonial period with the introduction of multi-party elections and ending in 2013 with the collapse of democracy in Mali and South Sudan, the book describes the rise of authoritarian states in the 1970s; the attempts of trade unions and some religious groups to check the abuse of power in the 1980s; the remarkable return of multiparty politics in the 1990s; and finally, the tragic tendency for elections to exacerbate corruption and violence.

Democratization in Africa

Democratization in Africa
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 94
Release: 1992-02-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309047978

The global movement toward democracy, spurred in part by the ending of the cold war, has created opportunities for democratization not only in Europe and the former Soviet Union, but also in Africa. This book is based on workshops held in Benin, Ethiopia, and Namibia to better understand the dynamics of contemporary democratic movements in Africa. Key issues in the democratization process range from its institutional and political requirements to specific problems such as ethnic conflict, corruption, and role of donors in promoting democracy. By focusing on the opinion and views of African intellectuals, academics, writers, and political activists and observers, the book provides a unique perspective regarding the dynamics and problems of democratization in Africa.

Corruption and Government

Corruption and Government
Author: Susan Rose-Ackerman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 643
Release: 2016-03-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107081203

This new edition of a 1999 classic shows how institutionalized corruption can be fought through sophisticated political-economic reform.

Corruption and Constitutionalism in Africa

Corruption and Constitutionalism in Africa
Author: Charles Manga Fombad
Publisher:
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2020
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0198855591

The Stellenbosch Handbooks in African Constitutional Law series engages with contemporary issues of constitutionalism in Africa. The first experiments in democratic and constitutional governance in Africa that started after independence were soon overtaken by dictatorships, and arbitrary and repressive rule. The pulling down of the Berlin Wall followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union unleashed new forces of democratization and new hopes for the establishment and entrenchment of constitutional governance and constitutionalism in Africa. This series is designed to identify, analyse, and promote serious discussion of the critical issues that can shape, refine, and deepen the consolidation of constitutionalism in Africa. Although comparative constitutional law has become a major field of legal scholarship, most of the extensive research that has been carried out has focused on long-established democracies. The only African country that has attracted sustained research interest from a comparative law perspective is South Africa. The few books that present perspectives on African comparative constitutional law focus narrowly and exclusively on developments in either Anglophone, Francophone, or Arabophone Africa without cutting across these divides. Yet, since 1990, Africa has been at the centre of profound and far-reaching constitutional developments. Little comparative research has been carried out to understand the nature of these constitutional changes, to review their impact on the ethos of constitutionalism on the continent, and to explore prospects for the future. The series aims to stimulate interest in comparative constitutional research and the different constitutional traditions operating in Africa by presenting a comprehensive analysis of the latest thinking, research, and practice. In this way, the series intends to fill the huge gap in the existing literature on comparative African constitutional law as well as point out to directions for future research. Book jacket.

Growing Democracy in Africa

Growing Democracy in Africa
Author: Mamoudou Gazibo
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2016-02-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1443888443

What is the state of governance in sub-Saharan Africa? Is it possible to identify the best practices and approaches to establishing political systems that promote accountability, transparency, peace, and civic space for all? These are the questions addressed in this book. While the concept of governance is considered to be central to political science, our understanding of it is still imprecise, with extant studies focused primarily either on think-tank indicators, economic management, or political studies of democratization. This book critically examines the record on democratization in Africa thus far, and seeks a new, integrated, focused approach to the study of governance. Such an approach requires revisiting the concept of governance itself, with emphasis on certain decisive components and critical issues. Considered in a democratic framework, the concept of governance can be employed to cast light on accountability issues in several arenas, four of which are considered in detail in this volume: institutions and the rule of law; constitution-making, elections, and political conflict settlement; distribution of power and citizenship; and political economy and corruption. Each contribution offers particular insights in one of these arenas. With a huge and varied continent in rapid flux to study, the sheer amount and variety of interesting new research is enormous. It is expected that the discussions contained herein and the various challenges, achievements, and lessons outlined will contribute to research, inform teaching, and lead to a greater understanding of the issues of democratic consolidation and economic development in Africa.

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa
Author: Kathleen Beegle
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2019-10-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464812330

Sub-Saharan Africa's turnaround over the past couple of decades has been dramatic. After many years in decline, the continent's economy picked up in the mid-1990s. Along with this macroeconomic growth, people became healthier, many more youngsters attended schools, and the rate of extreme poverty declined from 54 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2015. Political and social freedoms expanded, and gender equality advanced. Conflict in the region also subsided, although it still claims thousands of civilian lives in some countries and still drives pressing numbers of displaced persons. Despite Africa’s widespread economic and social welfare accomplishments, the region’s challenges remain daunting: Economic growth has slowed in recent years. Poverty rates in many countries are the highest in the world. And notably, the number of poor in Africa is rising because of population growth. From a global perspective, the biggest concentration of poverty has shifted from South Asia to Africa. Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Africa explores critical policy entry points to address the demographic, societal, and political drivers of poverty; improve income-earning opportunities both on and off the farm; and better mobilize resources for the poor. It looks beyond macroeconomic stability and growth—critical yet insufficient components of these objectives—to ask what more could be done and where policy makers should focus their attention to speed up poverty reduction. The pro-poor policy agenda advanced in this volume requires not only economic growth where the poor work and live, but also mitigation of the many risks to which African households are exposed. As such, this report takes a "jobs" lens to its task. It focuses squarely on the productivity and livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable—that is, what it will take to increase their earnings. Finally, it presents a road map for financing the poverty and development agenda.