Snakes in paradise : NGOs and the aid industry in Africa / Hans Holmén.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-274) and index.

Pt. I. Introduction -- 1. Development and Peasants' Associations in Sub-Saharan Africa -- An African Dilemma -- Organizations and Development -- Organization Building from Below - When, Where, and Why? -- Pt. II. The Eastern and Southern African Experience -- 2. The ESA Experience - Part 1 -- The World They're In -- Public Decentralization, Development, and Collective Action -- 3. The ESA Experience - Part 2 -- NGOs and Peasants' Associations in ESA -- Preliminary Assessment -- Pt. III. The West African Experience -- 4. Decentralization and Organizations in West Africa -- Mali -- Senegal -- Burkina Faso -- Benin -- Cote d'Ivoire -- Ghana -- Nigeria -- 5. Farmers' Associations in West Africa -- Cooperatives, Producers' Organizations, and Farmers' Associations -- Regional Cooperation -- 6. Interpreting the West African Experience -- Success Stories -- Why the Successes? -- Possible Success Stories -- Geography and Associations -- What's So Fascinating about Community? -- Summing Up -- Are West African Associations Leading the Way? -- Pt. IV. Another World is Possible -- 7. Another World is Possible -- Development Trends and Potentials among African Rural Organizations -- Implications for Donors.

"Beginning in the 1980s, sub-Saharan Africa witnessed a veritable explosion of NGOs and CSOs engaged in efforts to develop the subcontinent. Often praised for their commitment, flexibility, close contact with grassroots movements and marginalized groups, these organizations have become the darlings of donors and the UN system. During the same period, however, rural Africa has sunk deeper into poverty. The massive NGO engagement appears not to have made any meaningful progress." "Snakes in Paradise breaks through the generalizations and neat theories to discover why these efforts have failed. Focusing especially on those local NGOs that are frequently overlooked by studies that cover the major international players, Holmen uncovers a NGO landscape that is considerably more ambiguous than the popular development literature would have people believe."--BOOK JACKET.