Crisis of the State and Civil Domains in Africa

David Sogge

Mariano Aguirre and David Sogge

December 2006

The weakness of the state in Africa stems from the colonial period, and it has suffered further blows from neoliberal policies since the 1980s. The process of state reform should combine traditional with modern forms, and be cautious about the promotion of "civil society" as a universal remedy. In places where global interests interact with national weaknesses, the progress of citizenship has been on hold or has regressed.
statecrisisinafrica.pdf (414 Kb)

David Sogge

Independent Consultant

Transnational Institute Board member, David works as an independent advisor for grant-making agencies, specialising in civil society. Research and other professional activities in Africa provided a basis for books and articles on Angola and Mozambique and many unpublished reports on South Africa. More recently, evaluative research assignments have taken him to Eastern Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union. Trained at Harvard, David earned his graduate degrees from Princeton and the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague.