Precolonial Legacies in Postcolonial Politics: Representation and Redistribution in Decentralized West Africa

In decentralized West Africa, communities with formal jurisdictional boundaries that overlap with informal social institutions are better able to coordinate around basic service delivery. This is due to the precolonial past, which left behind collective identities and dense social networks, making it easier for local elites to cooperate following decentralization.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 318 pages
Publication date: 22 December 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Why do some communities succeed in improving their collective well-being while others struggle? Examining the variation in local government performance in decentralized West Africa, this book presents a novel explanation. Communities are more effective in coordinating their efforts around essential service delivery when their formal jurisdictional boundaries coincide with informal social institutions or norms. This book identifies the precolonial past as the primary driver of significant subnational differences in the present, as these social institutions only encompass the numerous villages of the local state in regions that were once home to precolonial polities. The book develops and tests a theory of institutional congruence to demonstrate how the past shapes contemporary elite approaches to redistribution within the local state. In areas where precolonial kingdoms left behind collective identities and strong social networks, local elites find it easier to cooperate after decentralization. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Why do some communities succeed in improving their collective well-being while others struggle? Examining the variation in local government performance in decentralized West Africa, this book presents a novel explanation. Communities are more effective in coordinating their efforts around essential service delivery when their formal jurisdictional boundaries coincide with informal social institutions or norms. This book identifies the precolonial past as the primary driver of significant subnational differences in the present, as these social institutions only encompass the numerous villages of the local state in regions that were once home to precolonial polities. The book develops and tests a theory of institutional congruence to demonstrate how the past shapes contemporary elite approaches to redistribution within the local state. In areas where precolonial kingdoms left behind collective identities and strong social networks, local elites find it easier to cooperate after decentralization. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

ISBN-13: 9781009286183
Edition number: Revised ed