- control of the state by independent institutions
- democracy
- institutions
- legitimization
- participation
- access to justice
- modernisation of justice
- reform of the judicial system
- rule of law
- administrative reform
- anthropology of the state
- construction of the state
- crisis of the post-colonial state
- decentralization
- new public management
- political patronage
- State reform
- historical reality of governance in Africa
- legal pluralism
- political culture
- traditional/religious actor
- elections
- electoral behaviour
- electoral law
- electoral process
- political parties and partisan systems
- vote analysis
- civil society
- media & ICT
- public opinion
- capacity enhancement
- evaluation
- governance analysis and evaluation
- human rights & fondamental freedoms
- protection of human rights defenders
- rights of indigenous peoples
- rights of minority peoples
- rights of refugees
- rights of the child
- children in conflict
- conflict management
- demobilization and reintegration
- disarmament and reinsertion of combattants
- fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons
- fragile states
- mediation
- peace and security
- peace enforcement
- peacekeeping
- reconstruction of post-conflict states
- regional cooperation in conflict management
- security system reform
- conflict linked to migration
- cross-border cooperation
- ethnic conflicts
- intercultural dialogue
- migration
- national integration
- pan-African integration
Democratic Governance
Democratic governance goes beyond the question of institutions or forms of government.It covers social coordination mechanisms participating in political action and as a result is based on two assumptions.
First, governance is not a set of rules or an activity but a process. It refers to the decision-making process within all groups in social, political, economic or private spheres.
Second, governance aims to facilitate participation in defining public policy, its implementation by multiple stakeholders who have neither the same interests, nor the same modes of regulation: states, decentralised administrations, businesses, voluntary groups.
Democratic governance is considered the art of governing whilst structuring the management of affairs at different levels, from local to worldwide, by regulating relations within society and co-ordinating intervention of various actors.It is not just about helping reform African States but also about helping their societies to rethink their own modes of management and define themselves a pro-active regulation model, which corresponds better to the challenges they face.
This approach to democratic governance constitutes a proposal for restructuring the State as well as its relationship with society in Africa, within the framework of Developmental Governance.
