Book review: Democratic trajectories in Africa: unravelling the impact of foreign aid, edited by Danielle Resnick and Nicolas van de Walle

"Democratic Trajectories in Africa: Unravelling the Impact of Foreign Aid." Edited by Danielle Resnick and Nicolas van de Walle. Oxford University Press. October 2013. --- Despite impressive economic growth rates over the last decade, foreign aid still plays a significant role in Africa’s political economies. This book asks when, why, and how foreign aid has facilitated, or hindered, democratization in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors use a combination of cross-country quantitative analyses and in-depth case studies of Benin, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia based on recent interviews with donors, government officials, and civil society organizations. Researchers interested in the effects of foreign aid to the establishment and orchestration of democratic institutions will find this book useful in their studies, writes Jonathan R. Beloff.