Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa

Good governance is a critical factor in shaping the level of peace and stability in any country as well as influencing the prospects for its economic development. African governance trends were supposedly transformed by the dramatic reforms introduced by almost all countries at the end of the Cold W...

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Main Author: FOMBAD, CHARLES
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis 2022
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Online Access:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/59229
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author FOMBAD, CHARLES
author_browse FOMBAD, CHARLES
author_facet FOMBAD, CHARLES
author_sort FOMBAD, CHARLES
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Good governance is a critical factor in shaping the level of peace and stability in any country as well as influencing the prospects for its economic development. African governance trends were supposedly transformed by the dramatic reforms introduced by almost all countries at the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. Most commentators were optimistic that a new era of good governance and constitutionalism had set in. Now, three decades since these reforms were undertaken, are they bearing fruit? Have the prospects for political stability, peace and economic development been enhanced? In reviewing the state of governance, this chapter examines good-governance initiatives introduced in the 1990s by African governments and reinforced by several instruments adopted to this end by the African Union and Regional Economic Communities. Against this background, the chapter examines a number of continental and global good-governance indicators to see what they tell us about the state of governance in the continent today. The chapter concludes that unless the existing framework for constitutionalism, good governance, and respect for the rule of law are reimagined and reinforced, Africa will continue to lag behind in social and economic development while political instability will increase.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-935512025-08-13T13:41:28Z Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa FOMBAD, CHARLES Governance, State, Africa thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government Good governance is a critical factor in shaping the level of peace and stability in any country as well as influencing the prospects for its economic development. African governance trends were supposedly transformed by the dramatic reforms introduced by almost all countries at the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. Most commentators were optimistic that a new era of good governance and constitutionalism had set in. Now, three decades since these reforms were undertaken, are they bearing fruit? Have the prospects for political stability, peace and economic development been enhanced? In reviewing the state of governance, this chapter examines good-governance initiatives introduced in the 1990s by African governments and reinforced by several instruments adopted to this end by the African Union and Regional Economic Communities. Against this background, the chapter examines a number of continental and global good-governance indicators to see what they tell us about the state of governance in the continent today. The chapter concludes that unless the existing framework for constitutionalism, good governance, and respect for the rule of law are reimagined and reinforced, Africa will continue to lag behind in social and economic development while political instability will increase. 2022-11-12T04:01:41Z 2022-11-12T04:01:41Z 2022-11-11T12:55:14Z 2023 chapter https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/59229 9781032207926 9781032207995 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/93551 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/59229/1/9781003265306_10.4324_9781003265306-2.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/59229/1/9781003265306_10.4324_9781003265306-2.pdf Taylor & Francis Routledge 10.4324/9781003265306-2 10.4324/9781003265306-2 fa69b019-f4ee-4979-8d42-c6b6c476b5f0 Contemporary Governance Challenges in the Horn of Africa Addis Ababa University da07314d-684b-4655-9398-6f7271557ad9 9781032207926 9781032207995 Routledge 45 open access
spellingShingle Governance, State, Africa
thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
FOMBAD, CHARLES
Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa
title Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa
title_full Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa
title_fullStr Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa
title_full_unstemmed Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa
title_short Chapter 2 The state of governance in Africa
title_sort chapter 2 the state of governance in africa
topic Governance, State, Africa
thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
topic_facet Governance, State, Africa
thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::L Law::LN Laws of specific jurisdictions and specific areas of law::LND Constitutional and administrative law: general::LNDH Government powers
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GT Interdisciplinary studies::GTU Peace studies and conflict resolution
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/59229
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