Political institutions and systems

This area of work examines the nature of formal and informal institutions and their impact on citizen-state relations and development processes. We cover a number of strands including:

1. The functioning of accountability systems and their key components –  rule of law, parliaments, electoral systems, the judiciary, parties, civil society organisations and the media – in developing countries.
2. Donor support to accountability systems in developing countries.
3. The challenges of implementing realistic governance systems and processes.

A major focus of our work over the next five years is a DFID-funded Research Programme Consortium on Africa Power and Politics: Discovering institutions that work for poor people. In this programme, we – along with a number of international partners – are exploring the kinds of political, economic and social arrangements that could enable countries in sub-Saharan Africa to make faster progress towards development and the elimination of extreme poverty.