Summary

• Political and economic liberalization in Africa have yielded mixed results, complicated by persistent armed conflicts.
• The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) is at the forefront of efforts to promote enhanced investments in poorer countries that undertake political, legal, and economic reforms.
• Although good governance has been high on the agenda of African countries since the 1980s, state erosion, corruption, and institutional weakness characterize the public sector in many countries.
• The declining security of African peoples as a consequence of warfare, predatory officials, and weak economies should not be eclipsed in the international community's pursuit of anti-terrorism campaigns.
• Two decades of economic reforms with high inflows of development assistance have failed to generate sustainable growth in Africa in large part because of profound institutional deficiencies.
• The "African predicament" is a global issue requiring the mobilization of institutional capacities in many sectors: corporate, civic, religious, philanthropic, governmental, and educational.
• "Smart partnerships" between peoples and institutions should be tailored to the wide divergences among African countries and even among zones within particular countries.
• A significant increase in the funding of policy-relevant research involving African and non-African institutions is needed to distill lessons learned regarding governance, state-building, human security, and impediments to economic growth.
• A new strategic framework for African development would take into account transnational demographic, communication, and governance trends that facilitate the pursuit of alternatives to state-centric models.

About the Report

Overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises in Africa have attracted increased attention from policymakers and researchers. A major outcome of these reflections is the creation of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), a comprehensive reform program sponsored by African government leaders.

Richard Joseph, a senior fellow in the Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace at the United States Institute of Peace, has studied and actively participated in efforts to promote peace, democracy, and development in Africa. In this report, he proposes a strategic framework of developmental partnerships based on the realities of contemporary Africa. During a period when international financing of development is being actively re-examined, the aim of this report is to promote a wider debate of available policy.

The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Institute of Peace, which does not advocate specific policies.