Decentralization and Constitutionalism in Africa

Charles M. Fombad, Professor of Law, University of Pretoria,Nico Steytler, South African Research Chair in Multi-level Government, Law and Policy, University of the Western Cape

Charles M. Fombad is Professor of Law and leads the African Constitutional Law Unit at the Institute for International and Comparative Law at the University of Pretoria. He has taught at the University of Botswana, the University of Yaounde II, and was visiting Professor at the Universities of Dschang and Buea in Cameroon. From 2003 to 2007 he was also a Professor Extraordinarius of the Department of Jurisprudence at the University of South Africa. He is the author of several books and a member of the editorial board of a number of international journals. He is currently a vice-president of the International Association of Constitutional Law. He is also a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study. His research interests include comparative African constitutional law, media law, and the African Union and legal history, especially legal harmonization.

Nico Steytler holds the South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Development at the Dullah Omar Institute of Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights, at the University of the Western Cape

Introduction, Charles M. Fombad
Part I: Introductory Overview
1. The Relationship between Decentralization and Constitutionalism in Africa: Concepts, Conflicts, and Hypotheses, Nico Steytler
2. Ethnicity, Decentralization, and Constitutionalism: A Comparative Perspective, Yash Ghai
3. Regional and Continental Frameworks for Decentralization in Africa: The African Charter on Decentralization, Charles M. Fombad
Part II: Federal and Hybrid Federal Systems in Africa
4. Constitutional Infidelity and Federalism in Nigeria, Rotimi T. Suberu
5. A Federation without Federal Credentials: The Story of Federalism in a Dominant Party State, Yonatan Fessha
6. The Dynamic Relationship between Devolution and Constitutionalism in South Africa, Nico Steytler
7. Regionalizing Provinces under the Congolese Constitution of 18 February 2006: Progress and Challenges, Balingene Kahombo
8. Implementation of Devolution under Kenya's 2010 Constitution: Political Resistance and the Struggle for the Ideals of Constitutionalism, Conrad M. Bosire
9. Constitutionalism: The Missing Element in South Sudan's Elusive Quest for Peace through Federalism?, Zemelak Ayitenew Ayele
Part III: Decentralisation, Local Government, and Constitutionalism
10. Constitutionalisation of Local and Regional Government in South Africa, Uganda, and Lesotho, Jaap de Visser
11. Decentralization for Participatory Governance under Ghana's 1992 Constitution: The Rhetoric and the Reality, Kofi Quashigah
12. Decentralization and Constitutionalism in Zimbabwe: Can the Leviathan be Tamed?, Tinashe Chigwata
13. Cameroon and the Anomalies of Decentralization with a Centralist Mindset, Charles M. Fombad
14. Decentralised Territorial Entities and Promotion of Local Governance under the Constitution of 18 February 2006 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Hengelela Cihunda
15. The Concept and Implementation of 'Gradual Decentralization' in Mozambique, Andre Thomashausen
16. Progress and Pitfalls in Constitutional Reform: Decentralization in the Wake of the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia, Sherif Elgebeily
17. Subnational Constitutional Autonomy, Local Government, and Constitutionalism in Ethiopia, Christophe Van der Beken
Part IV: Traditional Institutions and Decentralisation
18. Constitutionalisation of Traditional Authorities and the Decentralization of Governance: Anglophone and Francophone Africa Compared, Jan Erk
19. Mapping Traditional Leadership and Authority in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Decentralization and Constitutionalism in Traditional Governance, Christa Rautenbach
20. The Tinkhundla Decentralization System: Is this a Blend of Traditional and Modern State Governance that Works?, Musa Njabulo Shongwe
Part V: General Conclusion
21. The Symbiotic Relationship between Decentralization and Constitutionalism in Africa, Nico Steytler