Public Policy and Public Action in Africa, between Practical Norms, Political Dynamics and Outside Influences

Abstract

Public policy in Africa and, even more globally, public action1 both present a dynamic field of research. Over the past few years three edited books or journal special issues have specifically addressed this topic and their introductory texts will serve to present their project. This issue of Anthropologie & Développement is thus a further contribution to a recent and rich academic production encompassing several other edited books (Ridde and Jacob, 2013; Bierschenk and Olivier de Sardan, 2014; Olivier de Sardan and Ridde, 2014; Olivier de Sardan and Piccoli, 2018) and certain journal issues devoted to related themes (Chauveau, 2017; Petiteville, 2017).Scholars in geography, demography, economy and political science have contributed to a book entitled L’État réhabilité en Afrique (The African State Rehabilitated), which offers a wide panorama of sectorial policies in Africa, taking care to duly inscribe them within their social, political and historical contexts. In a comprehensive appraisal, Emmanuel Grégoire and Marie-France Lange (2018) retrace the evolution of public policies in Africa, particularly those concerning economy, since the advent of Independence. They underline the specificity of contemporary African states that have been rehabilitated in the discourse of international institutions, but whose autonomy vis-à-vis these institutions is still constrained.