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Ideas of participatory development and empowerment have become central to contemporary development discourse. This article identifies two axes of tension within this discourse. First is the disturbing thought that by empowering a 'community' a development project can disempower groups or individuals within that community. Second is the paradox whereby external agents are perceived as necessary to install internal desires and capacities for individual and community autonomy. The article presents empirical data from research into two projects by the NGO World Vision in northeast Tanzania. The aim is to show that the dilemmas of development in practice turn around these axis of tension, as the attempts to empower the 'community' benefit disproportionately an elite – the idea of development as 'empowerment' inserted into the community from the outside.

Ideas of participatory development & empowerment have become central to contemporary development discourse. This article identifies two axes of tension within this discourse. First is the disturbing thought that by empowering a 'community' a development project can disempower groups or individuals within that community. Second is the paradox whereby external agents are perceived as necessary to install internal desires & capacities for individual & community autonomy. The article presents empirical data from research into two projects by the NGO World Vision in northeast Tanzania. The aim is to show that the dilemmas of development in practice turn around these axis of tension, as the attempts to empower the 'community' benefit disproportionately an elite -- the idea of development as 'empowerment' inserted into the community from the outside. 21 References. Adapted from the source document.

Der Autor diskutiert den Zusammenhang zwischen afrikanischen Sozialformationen, den Arten von "Selbst", die diese hervorbringen und den für den Kontinent charakteristischen Politikformen. Aufgrund der afrikanischen Sozialformationen und den durch diese geschaffenen fragmentierten "Selbst" neigten Afrikaner eher dazu, der Macht von Institutionen auszuweichen als sich ihr zu stellen. Dieses zeige sich in jüngerer Zeit vor allem im Bereich der Landwirtschaft ("de-agrarianisation"). Die Institutionalisierung von politischer Rechtschaffenheit und Verantwortlichkeit ("accountability") sei damit umso schwieriger zu erreichen. Die Analysen der afrikanischen Krise und Vorschläge zu ihrer Überwindung sollten um diese Dimension erweitert werden. (DÜI-Sbd)

Adaptive management' and 'politically smart programming' are increasingly popular ideas in development. They capture an ambition to programme in ways that are more flexible and experimental, and which respond to and capitalise on political dynamics and incentives. Over the last 10 to 15 years there has been a notable increase in aid programmes that explicitly reference these terms, or similar ideas such as 'doing development differently' and problem-driven iterative adaptation. There is a growing consensus that interventions are more likely to make a positive difference in highly complex situations if they adopt these principles and methods. However, according to recent reviews of the literature on thinking and working politically and adaptive management, much of the evidence used so far to support these approaches is anecdotal, does not meet high standards for robustness, is not comparative and draws on a small number of self-selected, relatively well-known success stories. To generate lessons to help deepen the evidence base, this report uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to explore the most important ingredients of success in the Institutions for Inclusive Development (I4ID) Programme - an adaptive, issue-based governance initiative in Tanzania.

This publication includes reviews of the following books:The Horn of Africa by
Kidane Mengisteab. Cambridge: Polity, 2014. £15.99 (pbk.). Pp. 240+index. ISBN:
9780745651217. Review by Christopher Clapham. Ethiopia: the last two frontiers by John
Markakis. Woodbridge: James Currey, 2011. Pp. 399. $34.95 (pbk.). ISBN: 9781847010742.
Review by Christopher Clapham.Regime change and succession politics in Africa: five
decades of misrule, edited by Maurice Nyamanga Amutabi and Shadrack Wanjala Nasong'o.
New York and London: Routledge, 2013. Pp. 237+bibliography+index, £80.00 (hbk). ISBN13:
9780415534086. Review by Tim Kelsall.China's resource diplomacy in Africa: powering
development? by Marcus Power, Giles Mohan and May-Tan Mullins. New York and Basingstoke:
Palgrave MacMillan, 2012. Pp. 329 + xix, £63 (hbk.). ISBN: 9780230229129. Review by
Pádraig Carmody.Dealing with government in South Sudan: histories of chiefship,
community and state by Cherry Leonardi. Suffolk: James Currey (Eastern African Series),
2013. Pp. 224 + notes + bibliography + index. £45.00 (hbk). ISBN: 9781847010674. Review
by Jonathan Fisher.

Few concepts have captured the imagination of the conflict and development communities in recent years as powerfully as the idea of a 'political settlement'. At its most ambitious, 'political settlements analysis' (PSA) promises to explain why conflicts occur and states collapse, the conditions for their successful rehabilitation, different developmental pathways from peace, and how to better fit development policy to country context. Yet despite the meteoric rise of the term and its tremendous promise, not all is well in the world of PSA. Rival definitions of the concept abound; there are disagreements about its scope and the way it should be used; a growing schism between conflict specialists and economists; basic concepts are ambiguous; and little progress has been made on measurement. This book consequently has three main aims. The first is to argue for a revised definition of a political settlement, capable of unifying its diverse strands. The second is to put the concept on a more solid theoretical and scientific footing, providing a method for measuring and categorizing political settlements, using both qualitative case studies and a large-n statistical analysis to illustrate its potential. And the third is to examine the implications of the findings for mainstream social science analysis and for policymakers.

Few concepts have captured the imagination of the conflict and development communities in recent years as powerfully as the idea of a 'political settlement'. At its most ambitious, 'political settlements analysis' (PSA) promises to explain why conflicts occur and states collapse, the conditions for their successful rehabilitation, different developmental pathways from peace, and how to better fit development policy to country context. Yet despite the meteoric rise of the term and its tremendous promise, not all is well in the world of PSA. Rival definitions of the concept abound; there are disagreements about its scope and the way it should be used; a growing schism between conflict specialists and economists; basic concepts are ambiguous; and little progress has been made on measurement. This book consequently has three main aims. The first is to argue for a revised definition of a political settlement, capable of unifying its diverse strands. The second is to put the concept on a more solid theoretical and scientific footing, providing a method for measuring and categorizing political settlements, using both qualitative case studies and a large-n statistical analysis to illustrate its potential. And the third is to examine the implications of the findings for mainstream social science analysis and for policymakers.