The 1990s were marked by democratic reforms throughout Africa, which went in tandem with decentralization reforms. The chapters of the volume all highlight the gradual changes that have taken place since. Long-term structural uncodified factors – be it societal, economic, geographic, demographic – seem to have interacted with the constitutional clauses introduced during the reforms.
Some chapters look at how decentralization slowly gave way to recentralization because none of the new subnational entities were politically and economically strong enough to balance off the center; some look at how inherent deficiencies in infrastructure and personnel at the subnational level brought the central government back in; some look at how different subnational units ended up working differently due to differences in demographic and social factors; some look at how uncodified factors came to determine how national politics functioned; some look at how decentralization created new conflicts between ethnic groups competing for the control of the new entities; some look at how decentralization blew new life into traditional authorities.
This book was original published as a special issue of Regional and Federal Studies.
Edited by:
Jan Erk
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781138747920
ISBN 10: 1138747920
Pages: 236
Publication Date: 15 August 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
,
A / AS level
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
1. Federalism and Decentralization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Five Patterns of Evolution 2. Federalism in Africa: Origins, Operation and (In)Significance 3. When Decentralization Leads to Recentralization: Subnational State Transformation in Uganda 4. Ethnic Decentralization and the Challenges of Inclusive Governance in Multiethnic Cities: The Case of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia 5. Decentralization in Post-Apartheid South Africa 6. The Geography of Governance in Africa: New Tools from Satellites, Surveys and Mapping Initiatives
Jan Erk is currently the Jan Smuts Memorial Fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK. He completed his doctorate at McGill University and his post-doctoral studies at the University of Toronto in Canada. In 2018, he will become a Fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) in South Africa.
