REINVENTING THE LOCAL? PRIVATIZATION, DECENTRALIZATION AND THE POLITICS OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: EXAMPLES FROM AFRICA

Abstract

This paper re-examines the common argument that defi ning and securing local ownership of resources and social activities is the key to sustainable development and democratization in contemporary Africa. In the process of deciding who and what are local, administrators and policy makers often provoke debates and struggles that lead to confl ict rather than cooperation, and complicate rather than clarify practices of resource management and governance.