Local actors, powers and accountability in African decentralization: A review of issues

Decentralization across Africa are re-organizing the roles and powers of local actors in the name of increasing participation of local populations in governance. How these reforms affect popular participation depends on the local institutional arrangements they create: which actors receive powers, what powers they receive, and the relations of accountability these actors are located in. This review covers a portion of the literature and characterizes decentralizations and attempts to explain their outcomes in Africa.