Dicklitch challenges the dominant discourse of neo-liberalism which places NGOs and civil society at the forefront of democratization and development in Africa. Based on nine months of field research in Uganda, the study draws on evidence from the 'successfully' liberalizing country and shows how NGO potential for democratization and development has been subverted by state directives, structural and historical conditions, as well as the internal limitations of NGOs.

SUSAN DICKLITCH is Assistant Professor at Franklin and Marshall College. She was previously Research Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina (1994-97). She has a PhD from the University of Toronto (1995). She was Assistant Editor of the African Studies Review (1994-97).