This book argues that strengthening policing, and the rule of law is pivotal to promoting human rights, equity, access to justice and accountability in sub-Saharan Africa. Through a multidisciplinary approach, this book considers the principles of accountability, just laws, open government, and accessible and impartial dispute resolution, in relation to key institutions that deliver and promote the rule of law in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Chapters examine a range of topics including police abuse of power and the use of force, police-citizen relations, judicial corruption, human rights abuse, brutality in the hands of armed forces, and combating arms proliferation. Drawing upon key institutions that deliver and promote the rule of law in sub-Saharan African countries including, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa, the contributors argue that strengthening policing, security and the rule of law is pivotal to promoting human rights, equity, access to justice and accountability. As scholars from this geographical region, the contributing authors present current realities and first-hand accounts of the challenges in this context. This book will be of interest to scholars of African studies, criminology and criminal justice, police studies, international law practice, transitional justice, international development, and political science.

In Police Administration in Africa, Ejakait S.E. Opolot lays the foundation for future developments and trends in police administration in the former British colonies in Africa. Opolot emphasizes the dynamism between theory and practice. As such, Police Administration in Africa establishes a model to be replicated in other parts of the Third World.

The key argument of this book is that state policing plays a vital role in the realm of security sector governance, but that African police have several failings that are direct outcomes of their historical development: they are often violent, brutal, corrupt and politicised. As institutions, Africa's national police forces still tend to resemble those established by colonial powers in their structure and conduct, and are typically mistrusted by the very people for whom they are meant to ensure security and safety.

The rule of law is indispensable for sustained peace, good governance, and economic growth, especially in countries recovering from civil war. Yet despite its importance, we know surprisingly little about how to restore the rule of law in the wake of conflict. In this book, Robert A. Blair proposes a new theory to explain how the international community can help establish the rule of law in the world's weakest and most war-torn states, focusing on the crucial but often underappreciated role of the United Nations. Blair tests the theory by drawing on original household surveys in Liberia, highly disaggregated data on UN personnel and activities across Africa, and hundreds of interviews with UN officials, local leaders, citizens, and government and civil society representatives. The book demonstrates that UN intervention can have a deeper, more lasting, and more positive effect on the rule of law than skeptics typically believe.

Over much of Africa, crime and insurgency are a serious problem and one in which the distinction between the two is being eroded. Left without state protection people have sought to preserve their lives and property through vigilante groups and militias that pay scant attention to the law or human rights. Likewise, the state security forces, under pressure to cut crime and rebel activity, readily discard lawful procedures. Torture provides them with vital information, whilst extra-judicial executions save the need to go through the prolonged criminal justice system. After a general overview of the role of the rule of law in a democratic society, Bruce Baker provides five case studies that capture the current complex realities and their impact on the new democracies. The citizen responses considered are vigilantes in East African pastoral economies, The Bakassi Boys an anti-crime group in Nigeria and private policing initiatives in South Africa. The state responses are those of the Ugandan Defence Forces towards the Lords Resistance Army, the Senegalese army towards the Casamance secessionists and the Mozambique Police response towards criminals.

Policing is crucial to how Africans experience the freedoms of democracy and determines to a large degree the levels of economic investment they will enjoy. Yet it is a neglected area of study. Based on field research, this book reveals the surprising variety of people involved in policing besides the state police. Indeed many Africans are faced with a wide choice of public and private, legal and illegal, effective and ineffective policing. Policing in Africa is very much more than what the police do. It concerns the activities of business interests, residential communities, cultural groups, criminal organizations, local political figures and governments. How people negotiate this Smulti-choice of policing options, and the implications of this for government and donor security policy, is the subject of this book. It covers policing in all its forms in Sub-Saharan Africa, including two case studies of Uganda and Sierra Leone.

Drawing on research in anthropology, history and critical legal studies the contributors conceive of law as a human construct invoked by some at the expense of others in struggles over resources, power and authority. Studying law in colonial Africa illuminates who won and who lost in these struggles over resources and authority, and uncovers the role of customary law in this process. North America: Heinemann