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The strength of weak states?: non-state security forces and hybrid governance in Africa

Meagher, Kate (2012) The strength of weak states?: non-state security forces and hybrid governance in Africa. Development and Change, 43 (5). pp. 1073-1101. ISSN 0012-155X

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Identification Number: 10.1111/j.1467-7660.2012.01794.x

Abstract

In this article, I explore the recent revalorization of non-state forms of order and authority in the context of hybrid approaches to governance and state building in Africa. I argue for a more empirical and comparative approach to hybrid governance that is capable of distinguishing between constructive and corrosive forms of non-state order, and sharpens rather than blurs the relationship between formal and informal regulation. A critique of the theoretical and methodological issues surrounding hybrid governance perspectives sets the scene for a comparative analysis of two contrasting situations of hybrid security systems: the RCD-ML of eastern DR Congo, and the Bakassi Boys vigilante group of eastern Nigeria. In each case, four issues are examined: the basis of claims that regulatory authority has shifted to informal security systems; the local legitimacy of the security forces involved; the wider political context; and finally, whether a genuine transformation of regulatory authority has resulted, offering local populations a preferable alternative to the prior situation of neglectful or predatory rule. I argue that hybrid governance perspectives often essentialize informal regulatory systems, disguising coercion and political capture as popular legitimacy, and I echo calls for a more historically and empirically informed analysis of hybrid governance contexts.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28...
Additional Information: © 2012 John Wiley & Sons
Divisions: International Development
Subjects: D History General and Old World > DT Africa
J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
Date Deposited: 14 Sep 2012 09:27
Last Modified: 02 Oct 2024 06:48
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/45876

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