CIVIL SOCIETY, DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA
CIVIL SOCIETY, DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes the role of civil society in promoting democracy and good governance in Africa. It begins by exploring the debate about what constitutes civil society in Africa. The article argues that the conventional notion of civil society, which restricts its constitutive elements to only western-type NGOs, is not useful for the analysis of civil society in Africa. Such notion of civil society undermines the contributions of traditional organizations to the deepening of democracy and good governance in the continent. This article adopts an expanded notion of civil society that allows for the analysis of the role of both traditional and modern organizations in Africa. It shows the contributions of civil society to democracy and good governance in Africa, focusing on the struggles for decolonization and demilitarization, the promotion of social justice, state performance, popular participation in policymaking and transparency in governance.

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