Real Governance and Practical Norms in Sub-Saharan Africa

Name: Real Governance and Practical Norms in Sub-Saharan Africa
Brand: Taylor & Francis

Taylor & Francis

Real Governance and Practical Norms in Sub-Saharan AfricaThe game of the rules\nAuthor(s): Tom De Herdt, Jean-Pierre OLIVIER de SARDAN\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781138852587, 978-1138852587\nSynopsis\nAlthough international development discourse considers the state as a crucial development actor, there remains a significant discrepancy between the official norms of the state and public services and the actual practices of political elites and civil servants.\n\nThis text interrogates the variety of ways in which state policies and legal norms have been translated into the set of practical norms which make up real governance in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that the concept of practical norms is an appropriate tool for an ethnographic investigation of public bureaucracies, interactions between civil servants and users, and the daily functioning of the state in Africa. It demonstrates that practical norms are u.