Corporate governance reform in Nigeria: upstream and downstream interventions

Purpose Internal (e.g. firm performance, internal stakeholders) and external pressures (e.g. globalisation, technology, corporate scandals) have intensified calls for corporate governance reforms across varieties of capitalism. Yet, corporate governance practices among developing economies remain problematic. Drawing insights from Africa’s largest economy (Nigeria) and relying on the resource dependence theorisation, this study aims to address two questions – what are the prerequisites for effective reforms; and what reforms yield robust corporate governance? Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a qualitative methodology comprising semi-structured interviews with 21 executives in publicly listed Nigerian firms. The interviews were analysed using the content analysis technique. Findings This study proposes two sequential reforms (i.e. the upstream and downstream). The upstream factors highlight the preconditions that support corporate governance reforms, i.e. government commitment and enabling environment, while the downstream reforms combine elements of awareness and regulation to proffer robust corporate governance interventions. Originality/value This research further stresses the need to consider a bottom-up approach to corporate governance in place of the dominant top-down strategy. This strategy allows agents to participate actively in corporate governance policy-making rather than a top-down model, which imposes corporate governance on agents.

Land Administration, Chiefs, and Governance in Ghana

This chapter examines the role of chiefs in the administration of land in Ghana within a historical framework dating back to the pre-colonial period. It examines the relationship between the dynamic of internal political factors and of international pressures for governance reforms. It argues that while present land governance reforms fit into the framework of market liberal governance reforms advocated by international financial institutions and the USA, the origins of the present role of chiefs in land administration date back to the political coalitions that came to dominance following the overthrow of Nkrumah in 1966. Although these appeal to notions of community, they are also based on a coalition of national elites with traditional authorities, which enables rural resources to be appropriated for capital accumulation with the connivance of chiefs who give legal authority to these transactions, through the customary notion that they are the owners of the land. The chiefs are closely connected with national elites, and many prominent politicians originate from chiefly families. It is argued that current reforms strengthen the process of private acquisition of land rather than the user rights of smallholders and their ability to resist expropriation.

Why Non-Democracy Engages with Western Democracy-Promotion Programs

ABSTRACT Between the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s, the Chinese government was distinctly open to the Western offer of democracy-assistance programs. It cooperated with a number of Western organizations to improve the rule of law, village elections, administrative capacity, and civil society in China. Why did the Chinese government engage with democracy promoters who tried to develop these democratic attributes within China? The author argues that the government intended to use Western aid to its advantage. The Chinese Communist Party had launched governance reforms to strengthen its regime legitimacy, and Chinese officials found that Western democracy assistance could be used to facilitate their own governance-reform programs. The article traces the process of how the government’s strategic intention translated into policies of selective openness, and includes evidence from firsthand interviews, propaganda materials, and research by Chinese experts. The findings show how democracy promoters and authoritarian leaders have different expectations of the effects of limited democratic reform within nondemocratic systems. Empirically, reflecting on the so-called golden years of China’s engagement with the West sheds new light on the Chinese Communist Party’s survival strategy through authoritarian legitimation.