This publication considers options for strengthening institutional capacity within the public sector in African countries, by drawing on the experiences of public sector reform programmes in over a dozen African states. Issues discussed include: the relationship between governance and economic development, public expenditure and accountability, anti-corruption reforms, the politics of decentralisation, political structures and public service delivery.

Building and operating successful public institutions is a perennial and long-term challenge for governments. Drawing on research carried out on nine public agencies in Lao PDR, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Timor Leste, this volume identifies the shared mechanisms underpinning institutional success in fragile states.

An exploration of how states address the often conflicting challenges of development, order, and inclusion.

Introduction : the "long voyage of discovery" -- The big stuck in state capability -- Looking like a state : the seduction of isomorphic mimicry -- Premature load bearing : doing too much too soon -- Capability for policy implementation -- What type of organization capability is needed? -- The challenge of building (real) state capability for implementation -- Doing problem-driven work -- The searchframe : doing experimental iterations -- Managing your authorizing environment -- Building state capability at scale through groups.

This book describes the contrast between the strong economic growth and democratization that have occurred in Africa and its stalling political progress. It presents and discusses fragility as the phenomenon that has caused the state to remain weak and faltering and has led to at least one third of the continent’s citizens living in fragile states. Following the examination of the drivers of fragility and the impact of fragility on citizens and neighbouring states, the book discusses capacity building approaches. This part shows how effective states can be built on the African continent, a process that would result in a change from state fragility to state resilience. It is based on lessons learnt from close studies of the nations where the state has been most developed in the region, in Eastern and Southern Africa. The book provides and responds to the most recent and up-to-date information on African development and uses insights of people who have lived and worked in the continent for most of their lives.

The basic assumption of this book is that without capacity the new democratic state in South Africa cannot govern and cannot meet the challenges of poverty and unemployment. A number of influential political and business leaders, academics and activists reflect on the following questions: What is the state supposed to achieve? How will it get there? And where is it now? The answers to some of these problems and puzzles are to be found in this excellent collection of public policy analyses by leading scholars, intellectuals, policymakers, planners and practitioners in South Africa. Together, under the competent editorial hand of one of South Africa's most promising young academics, Professor Daniel Plaatjies, the essays offer a rich account of governmental capacity, and the lack thereof, as explanatory framework for the crises of credibility and delivery.

Theories of international relations, assumed to be universally applicable, have failed to explain the creation of states in Africa. There, the interaction of power and space is dramatically different from what occurred in Europe. In his groundbreaking book, Jeffrey Herbst places the African state-building process in a truly comparative perspective, examining the problem of state consolidation from the precolonial period, through the short but intense interlude of European colonialism, to the modern era of independent states. Herbst's bold contention--that the conditions now facing African state-builders existed long before European penetration of the continent--is sure to provoke controversy, for it runs counter to the prevailing assumption that colonialism changed everything. In identifying how the African state-building process differs from the European experience, Herbst addresses the fundamental problem confronting African leaders: how to extend authority over sparsely settled lands. Indeed, efforts to exert control over vast, inhospitable territories of low population density and varied environmental and geographical zones have resulted in devastating wars, millions of refugees, and dysfunctional governments perpetrating destructive policies. Detailing the precise political calculations of distinct African leaders, Herbst isolates the basic dynamics of African state development. In analyzing how these leaders have attempted to consolidate power, he is able to evaluate a variety of policy alternatives for dealing with the fundamental political challenges facing African states today.