Different Take on Africa - the importance of leadership
Following the Joint Statement on the political economy of Africa, agreed by five research groups including DLP, in March this year (download it from the DLP website here) we've been keeping the discussion going through the excellent 'Different take on Africa' blog.
Adrian Leftwich recently posted a piece on the blog emphasising the importance of understanding not just the structural but also the agential factors that have held back African development: the question of leadership.
Specifically, what role leadership (developmental or otherwise) can play at "critical junctures in reconstructing coalitions, initiating new political settlements or sustaining old ones". And the potential for developmental leaderships - in all sectors and at all levels of society - to mobilise people and resources to overcome the critical collective action problems that typically plague development in Africa and beyond. These are the critical issues that DLP is trying to better understand.
Read more and get involved in the discussion here:
