In the shadow of good governance: An ethnography of civil service reform in Africa

Description

Acknowledgements Glossary and abbreviations Map of Malawi 1 Introduction: Unpacking Good Governance Civil servants as implementers and “target population” The “dysfunctional” African state Good governance as technology Field sites Studying up, follow the policy Basic information about the civil service Outline 2 Historical Background Banda’s rule and the “New Malawi” The results of two decades of structural adjustment The civil service – from localisation to good governance 3 Constructing Country Ownership Introduction The emergence of a concept Conditionality and country ownership The normativity of numbers The discovery of the “C word” Conclusions 4 The Implementation Process Deconstructing policy implementation Retrenchment of employees made redundant The introduction of new housing allowances Increasing fragmentation of the civil service Conclusions 5 Eroding Salaries and Doing Business The African entrepreneurial spirit The meaning of having a job in the civil service “How to make ends meet” Winners and losers of economic liberalisation Conclusions 6 “Distance Saves me” Introduction Kubwerera kumudzi Education and social stratification The importance of associations The nature of kinship duties Conclusions 7 The Democratisation of Appropriation Introduction “Bad politics” The office mores – a parallel social and moral order A “primoridial public sphere”or a patchwork of moralities? Conclusions 8 Conclusions: the State in Society The paradoxical policies of the World Bank and the IMF A note on theorising the postcolonial state References Index