The APRM: A case study in democratic institution building?

This research paper analyzes the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as a tool for democratic institution building. It finds that while the APRM aims to foster transparency and dialogue, its progress is stalled by a lack of political will, technical capacity gaps, and financial shortages. The author argues that African governments often act as gate-keepers, limiting genuine public participation and the implementation of recommendations. The paper highlights the disparity in progress among member states, noting that by 2007, only Ghana had completed the full review process.

• The APRM is experiencing a loss of momentum, with the majority of its 27 member countries having not yet started the review process. By 2007, only Ghana had completed all stages of the review, while Kenya and Rwanda had not yet finished the widespread dissemination of their reports.
• African leaders and governments act as 'gate-keepers' in the APRM process, which hinders meaningful progress. Because the National Focal Points (NFP) are often manned by presidential appointees, they can block access between the public and the presidency, potentially making the APRM moribund over time.
• The APRM process suffers from a lack of standardized guidelines and binding obligations, leading to 'muddling through' by member countries. This flexibility has resulted in inconsistent research instruments, varying quality of supervision from the Panel of Eminent Persons, and disputes over the interpretation of oral contributions from civic groups.
• Implementation of the APRM is severely constrained by technical capacity gaps and financial shortages. In Uganda, for example, the process faced a significant deficit, with only 1.7 million dollars collected against an estimated cost of 4.6 million dollars, leading to a lack of funding for public education and staff salaries.
• Public participation in the APRM is often contested and limited by government dominance. While some countries like Benin implemented broad sensitisation programmes involving hundreds of officials, others have seen civil society marginalised due to resource constraints or a lack of clear frameworks for participation.
• The impetus for APRM change is split between external technical drivers and internal political drivers. Technical impetus is largely driven externally, notably by the UNDP, whereas political impetus is internally driven and often based on a cost-benefit analysis of what leaders fear to lose.

APA

Chikwanha, A. B. (2007). The APRM: A case study in democratic institution building? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper151.pdf

Chicago

Chikwanha, Annie Barbara. The APRM: A case study in democratic institution building? Institute for Security Studies, 2007. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper151.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chikwanha |first1=Annie Barbara |title=The APRM: A case study in democratic institution building? |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=October 2007 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper151.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chikwanha2007aprm, author = {Chikwanha, Annie Barbara}, title = {{The APRM: A case study in democratic institution building?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2007}, month = oct, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/paper151.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }