ABSTRACT
For more than two decades donors have been trying to improve development in Africa by importing models of ‘good governance’ from the West – promoting multi-party elections, supporting civil society, implementing rule of law programmes, and encouraging an independent media, among other things. In spite of these efforts Africa continues to lag behind other developing regions on a number of indicators, notwithstanding the recent global commodity boom. This has prompted thinking in parts of the development community about possible alternatives to good governance – alternatives that harness local institutional resources instead of trying to transplant them from outside.
