ABSTRACT
This paper examines whether in rural Morocco, local governments and community-based organizations have the capacity and incentives to engage in developmentally valuable partnerships. These partnerships could take the form of co-production arrangements or more political co-governance mechanisms. The fiscal, administrative and political dimensions of local government autonomy and capacity are discussed. The evidence on community-based organizations indicates that a high proportion of them lack the capacities and incentives to engage in partnerships with local governments. This is mainly due to their instrumentalization for clientelist and electioneering purposes by actors in "political society", i.e. local councilors, party members, and civil servants.
