Democratic governance and sectoral policy reform: Tracing linkages and exploring synergies

Effective democratic governance influences how societies and economies progress and prosper. For many people in developing and post-socialist countries, the action and impact of democratic governance happens through sectoral reforms. Efforts to improve democratic governance can have strong impacts on sectoral reforms, how these are implemented, who participates in them at various stages, and what outcomes are achieved. Conversely, sectoral policy reforms and program interventions can serve to promote and enhance democratic governance. This article discusses these linkages, and provides selected examples of the synergies among them. It raises the political dimension of democratic governance, and offers several suggestions regarding where, when, and how donor agencies can intervene, both to promote democratic governance and to advance sectoral policy reforms. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science ltd. All rights reserved.