GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT - THE VIEWS FROM WASHINGTON

Three Washington-based institutions have distinctive perspectives on issues of good government in developing countries. The US government is concerned mainly with issues of democracy and civil rights; the International Monetary Fund with reducing military expenditure; and the World Bank with a broader but less clearly defined agenda of governance issues. The article explores these different perspectives; the circumstances which gave rise to them; and the ethical, technical and practical issues raised by attempts to implement them, with special reference to Africa. If the new emphasis on governance in the aid relationship is to be constructive, it is important that the institutions promoting it be clear about their goals, realistic about their capacities, and accountable for their actions both to their own publics and to the people in those countries whose political environments they are trying to shape.