ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a set of overlapping debates, from globalization to governance, with relevance to the interrelated fields of international relations and international political economy and development studies. In particular, extending 'Strange power' to include civil society means that notions of 'governance', at all levels 'from local to global', become more inclusive and sustainable, yet also more disputed and challenging. Nevertheless, bringing in civil society permits a more comprehensive notion of 'governance', appropriate to the new millennium. A growing awareness of the 'triangular' configuration of the governance complex as well as the importance of a strong civil society within that nexus is evident in Africa. The chapter describes that new coalitions are being formed among state, businesses, civil societies and non-civil elements that operate in the grey areas between formal and formal political and economic systems. Many of these combinations have a regional character or at least regional dimensions.
