ABSTRACT
The focus of this collection on practical norms resonates with policy thinking about how to improve governance in Africa in the interests of development. Realising the limitations of prescriptive approaches for ‘good governance’, policy analysts have explored the potential for working with a plurality of actors and arrangements and of factoring in political relations (Merrey et al. 2007). Rather than pursuing unachievable idealized governance in resource constrained environments, policy makers are being encouraged to facilitate ‘good enough’ governance and to ‘go with the grain’ in pursuit of development goals. While there is some dispute as to what actually constitutes ‘the grain’ (Olivier de Sardan 2008), it is often conceived of as enduring relationships and sets of values embedded in extended family and community, in relations of identity and religious beliefs – the moral and informal economies (Kelsall 2008). In applying these ideas to development in Africa, Booth (2012) highlights the promise of practical hybrids in which professional arrangements are blended with local values. He sees such hybrids as ‘arrangements that work’ because they offer a good fit with contemporary African culture and practices.
