Civil society and the African Peer Review Mechanism ‘experiment’: Evidence from a survey of Africa-based non-governmental organisations
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Abstract
This article identifies and seeks to resolve a paradox in the views of non- governmental organisations (NGOs) about the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The paradox is that NGOs have serious misgivings about APRM processes within their own countries, yet they have become staunch supporters of the APRM as a regional initiative. These seemingly contradictory views emerge from a survey of hundreds of randomly selected Africa-based NGOs in seven APRM countries. I argue that NGOs’ positions on the APRM jointly reflect two main considerations: first, the opportunities it provides them to engage critically with their governments, beyond those available under domestic “governance as usual”; second, the intrinsic assertiveness with which specific NGOs value such opportunities. APRM country reviews, understood as an “experiment” in African governance, reveal key challenges of civil society engagement across diverse domestic political contexts.
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