Jump directly to page content

Civil society participation in urban governance in Africa. Supporting CSOs’ political voice for a transformation of citizen–state relations

Megatrends Policy Brief 2022 05, 14.07.2022, 10 Pages

doi:10.18449/2022MTA-PB05

Urbanisation offers great potential for Africa’s economic and social development but the rapid transformation is also putting a strain on Africa’s cities. Citizens have long demanded participation in urban governance that goes beyond elections. Although participatory processes have become increasingly evident, they are still far from being institutionalised at scale. This policy brief argues that participatory processes need to be thoroughly embedded in politics in order to move beyond particularistic gains towards a structural improvement of relations between citizens, CSOs, and local governments.