Policy images in Africa

Africa has been in the news as a continent on the rise. Old problems like lack of electricity, death from HIV/AIDS, poor road infrastructures, and stories of mass hunger and political turmoil are increasingly being replaced with narratives of change and gains in living standards. Although gains are visible, problems still linger. This recent history of transformation has triggered greater interest in policy studies and policy analysis. One might observe that the promise of public policy as opposed to public administration is a welcome approach. And perhaps, there is a surge in capacity for policy analysts instead of reliance on “administrative men and women” whose jobs as generalists have been criticized for the poor performance of Africa’s civil service. The experts in policy analysis have followed these stories with perspectives from their diferent academic disciplines. But common to all the narratives on policy solutions is the central idea of policy images. Not only does it provide a clue or feedback on the success and failures of various policies implemented in the name of fnding solutions to Africa’s problems. The idea of images also suggests the policymakers and implementers have a particular understanding and ranges of ideas to projects on behalf of the various stakeholders and interests, most of whom are public members.

Other Information

Published in: Routledge Handbook of Public Policy in Africa
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
See chapter on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003143840-10