As the World Bank famously put it back in 1989, "underlying the litany of Africa's development problems is a crisis of governance". This is a collection of authoritative essays bringing together prominent Africanists in political science and public administration to look at the role of governance in African development. The goal of the book is to move beyond the status quo debates about "structural adjustment" and to look at all the public and civic institutions which are likely to play a critical role if Africa is to overcome its economic crisis. ÍNDICE: Introduction - the state and African development, N. Van de Walle financing Africa's development - towards a business plan?, I. Elbadawi, A. Gelb tax reform and democratic accountability, L. Rakner, S. Golpen problems and prospects of civil service reform, D. Olown forging developmental synergies between states and associations, A.M. Tipp democratic decentralizationof natural resources - institutional choice and discretionary power transfers, J. Ribot foreign aid and state administrative capability, A. Goldsmith governance and the private sector, L. Cotton, V. Ramachadran governance and private investment, J. Emery governance in the security sector, N. Ball, J. Kayode Fayemi, F. Olonisakin, M. Rupiya, R. Williams.