Indirect Rule and State Weakness in Africa: Sierra Leone in Comparative Perspective

A fundamental problem for economic development is that most poor countries have 'weak state' which are incapable or unwilling to provide basic public goods such as law enforcement, order, education and infrastructure. In Africa this is often attributed to the persistence of 'indirect rule' from the

经济发展所面临的一项根本性挑战在于，绝大多数贫困国家均属于“弱国家（weak state）”，既无力也不愿提供执法、公共秩序、教育及基础设施等基本公共品。在非洲地区，这一困境常被归咎于“间接统治（indirect rule）”的持续存续——