You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Traditional leadership is a factor that has been long overlooked in evaluations of rural local government in much of contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa -- this volume addresses it head-on. Case studies drawn from Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Commonwealth countries in West, East, and Southern Africa, as well as Jamaica are included. An interdisciplinary and intercontinental collection that addresses this gap in dialogue about African politics. The book brings new perspectives on the integration, or reconciliation, of traditional leadership with democratic systems of local government.
Local governments encounter many problems, and although there is not one panacea that works internationally, this book argues that there are mechanisms to improve local situations. By drawing on case studies from the developing world, the authors review best practices in good governance.
This handbook constitutes a specialist single compendium that analyses African political economy in its theoretical, historical and policy dimensions. It emphasizes the uniqueness of African political economy within a global capitalist system that is ever changing and complex. Chapters in the book discuss how domestic and international political economic forces have shaped and continue to shape development outcomes on the continent. Contributors also provoke new thinking on theories and policies to better position the continent’s economy to be a critical global force. The uniqueness of the handbook lies in linking theory and praxis with the past, future, and various dimensions of the political economy of Africa.
This text is not only suitable for undergraduate students but is also ideal for use by professionals employed in or working with local government in South Africa.
Successful reforms need coherent approaches in which a range of stakeholders are willing to share responsibilities and resources in order to achieve the ultimate outcome of poverty reduction in developing countries. This book provides a framework to access intended outcomes generated by decentralization measures implemented in Asian and African countries. It is based on comparative analyses of different experiences of decentralization measures in six developing countries.
This book concerns the role of the state in achieving development. In many developing countries conventional wisdom concluded that development is best achieved through a centralised development strategy. The failure of this centralised development strategy has brought about the emergence of decentralisation to local government as one of the means to turn the tide of underdevelopment. This book presents decentralisation not only as a manifestation of 'good governance', but also as an indispensable tool towards development. The central question, however, is the following: how should the transitional state convert this into constitutional and legal arrangements? The author proposes a model for ...
The last few years have seen unprecedented change taking place in the Australian local government arena. In all states the functions and responsibilities of local authorities have been subjected to extensive reform. New legislation has redefined the role of councillors. Local governments have been required to introduce more efficient and effective management practices and become more open and responsive to their constituencies. The scope of traditional regulatory practices has been altered and councils forced to develop a competitive environment for the provision of services. The place of local authorities in the intergovernmental landscape has also changed. Different forms of interaction between Commonwealth, state and local government are evolving along with the emergence of new funding strategies to encourage a regional focus. This is the first book to offer a detailed discussion of the reforms that have taken place, and at the same time provide an informative and readable analysis for practitioners and students of government, politics and public sector management.
What is the relevance of community given a fast changing society? What kind of communities is it desirable to build? This book offers some answers to these questions & many more. It concludes that residents in difficult neighbourhoods often choose collective solutions to combat communal problems.