Governance and Societal Adaptation in Fragile States

This book examines the various ways in which some fragile states in the Global South (or states with limited statehood) have adopted, and adapted to, processes of governance in their quests to address the socialized problems affecting their societies. It tells the story of these states' resilience in the societal adaptation to a liberalized notion of governance. In addition to comparative case studies, the book also analyzes the engendered interplay of culture, economics, and politics in the creation of people-centric governance reforms. The contributing authors shed light on weak states' often constructive engagement in the promotion of state governance under a variety of societal conditions, adverse or otherwise, and on their ability to remain resilient despite the complexities of the political and economic challenges they face. Helen Ware is a Professor of Development Practice at the University of New England, Australia. She is a former Australian ambassador to African countries (Angola and Namibia), human rights officer, and senior AusAID official. John Idriss Lahai is Research Fellow at the University of New England, USA. He is former Policy Lead and Director of Research for several projects in sub-Saharan Africa for a consortium of USA/Australia-based research intensive universities Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 Introduction 11 Synopsis of the Book 12 Conclusion 18 The Realities of Governance: Conflict and Context Across Africa 20 Rebuilding the Governance Truck 24 Governance and Democracy 27 Rwanda, Free Speech, Democracy and Good Governance 30 Governance and Security 31 Governance in War Zones 32 Grey Areas: The Fine Grain of Poor Governance 34 Attacking the World Bank on Governance 35 A Second Airport for Sierra Leone? 36 Leaders Without Constraints? 38 How Long Can Colonialism Be Blamed for Present Misrule? 39 Solving the Mystery of the AFRICA Dummy 42 Neopatrimonialism—What Is It? 43 Development? Alternative Futures 46 Why Good Governance Is a Bad Thing 47 Governance Without Gender 49 Why Don’t Small Countries Work? 53 Donor Influence 54 The European Union Security, Governance and Development Triangle in Africa 57 What Can the Local Do? What Is ‘Empowerment’ and How Can It Be Recognized? 58 Governance and the Law 60 Corruption and Culture 62 What Is Working and Why? 64 Conclusion 65 Bibliography 67 State Institutions and the Consolidation of Popular Government in Nigeria 73 Preamble 73 Background 74 Legislative Institutionalization 77 Political Institutions 79 “Prebendal” State and Institutions 81 The Trajectory and Complexity of Institution Building 83 Public Sector Corruption and Institutional Inertia of Government 85 The EFCC and the Constraint of Its Operational Environment 86 INEC, the 2015 Elections and the Imperative for Viable Institutions 87 Inter-Institutional Relations and Institution Building 90 Executive Presidency as a Constraint to Viable Institution Building 91 The Nigeria Police, Partisanship and the Challenge of Institution Building 93 Making Institutions Work 94 Concluding Remarks 96 References 98 Local Institutional Designs and Reforms in Rwanda and Burundi 103 Introduction 103 Theoretical Framework 104 Efforts to Mitigate State Fragility in Rwanda 105 Independence and the Formation of the Burundi State 109 Efforts to Mitigate State Fragility in Burundi 110 Transformation in Rwanda 112 Rwanda’s Home-Grown Solutions Framework 114 Participatory Community Development 114 Social Protection Programme 115 Alternative Justice System 116 People-Centred Governance 118 Burundi’s New Chapter After the 2000 Peace Accords 119 Burundi’s Sustainable Peace 121 Ubushingantahe in Burundi 122 Lessons for EAC Partner States 122 Conclusion 123 References 124 Community-Based Organisations and the Development Agenda in Zimbabwe: The Case of Marange Development Trust, 2014–2017 127 Introduction 127 Historical Background 128 Adaptation and Fragility: The MDT and the Livelihood Focus 132 MDT and the Bus Service 138 The MDT and Its Synergies with Other Organisations 142 Problems Faced by the MDT 144 Conclusion 147 Bibliography 148 Framing Resilience and Adaptability: A Critical Discourse Analysis of ZANU PF Policy Texts in the Zimbabwean Post-2000 Context 150 Introduction 150 Background 152 Critical Discourse Analysis 154 The Narrative Turn: A Tale of Resilience 160 Resilience as Embedded in ZANU PF Discourse (Framing Resilience) 163 Conclusion 173 Primary Texts 174 Good Governance Under Zuma Administration: Fad or Reality? 177 Introduction 177 Conceptual and Theoretical Framework 179 Good Governance 179 Neopatrimonialism, Kleptocracy and Cronyism 181 Challenges Facing Good Governance in South Africa 184 Implications of State Capture on Good Governance 188 Conclusion and Recommendations 190 References 192 Claiming the State: The Political Economy of Social Welfare Access in Rural South Africa 195 Introduction 195 Social Welfare in the Republic of South Africa 198 Negotiating the State and Village in Rural Eastern Cape 201 The Sociality of Claiming Disability Support: Information and Agency 205 Poverty and Exclusion: ‘Knowing’ but Not Acting 209 Conclusion 212 References 213 Prospects for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity to Enhance African Political Governance 216 Introduction—Framing the Problem 217 Types of Communities and Political Governance Systems 222 A Survey of the African Language Ecology 226 Proposed Language-Based Framework for African Political Governance 230 Recap—Motivations for a Language-Based Framework 234 Conclusion 237 References 238 The Struggles of Adoption and Adaptation in the Governance Space of Vanuatu: The Incorporation of Jifly Authority and Kastom Governance into the Legal-Rational System 242 Introduction 242 Ideal Model: Political Governance 244 Traditional Society of Vanuatu 250 Building a Post-colonial State 251 Constitution and Kastom Governance 254 Governance Space 262 Election of Kastom Jifs 263 Functions of MNCC 265 MNCC Status 266 Conclusion 270 References 271 Index 274 Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction (Helen Ware, John Idriss Lahai)....Pages 1-9 The Realities of Governance: Conflict and Context Across Africa (Helen Ware)....Pages 11-63 State Institutions and the Consolidation of Popular Government in Nigeria (Ibraheem Oladipo Muheeb)....Pages 65-94 Local Institutional Designs and Reforms in Rwanda and Burundi (Paul Odhiambo)....Pages 95-118 Community-Based Organisations and the Development Agenda in Zimbabwe: The Case of Marange Development Trust, 2014–2017 (Bernard Kusena)....Pages 119-141 Framing Resilience and Adaptability: A Critical Discourse Analysis of ZANU PF Policy Texts in the Zimbabwean Post-2000 Context (Tsiidzai Matsika)....Pages 143-169 Good Governance Under Zuma Administration: Fad or Reality? (Mbekezeli Comfort Mkhize, Kongko Louis Makau, Phathutshedzo Madumi)....Pages 171-188 Claiming the State: The Political Economy of Social Welfare Access in Rural South Africa (Andrew Skuse)....Pages 189-209 Prospects for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity to Enhance African Political Governance (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 211-236 The Struggles of Adoption and Adaptation in the Governance Space of Vanuatu: The Incorporation of Jifly Authority and Kastom Governance into the Legal-Rational System (Gregoire Nimbtik)....Pages 237-268 Back Matter ....Pages 269-275