ABSTRACT
It is worth narrowing down at the outset the scope of this research. To begin with, this analysis will not elaborate on the role of every actor involved in the conceptualisation, formulation or implementation of assistance policy. Only limited attention will be given here to 'street level bureaucrats'- that is, the field operators, technical assistants, cooperants and other overseas representatives-whose influence over policy outcomes varies from one recipient country to the next and can only be properly evaluated in the context of specific African states (see chapters 8 and 9). Secondly, this chapter will not seek to explain the recent evolution of the political assistance agenda in terms of models or theories of the public policy process. Some use will nonetheless be made of a typology from the literature on pressure groups, namely that of 'insiders' and 'outsiders'. Basically, insiders are actors who have the ear of Ministers and highranking officials but whose autonomy of action is limited. Outsiders have less frequent and lower-level contacts with the aid administration while at the same time enjoying greater freedom to lobby the government.
