Lisa Thompson is Director of the African Citizenship and Democracy (ACCEDE) and Professor at the School of Government, University of the Western Cape. Her work focuses on issues of socio-economic development in the context of the global political economy. She has published widely on research pertaining to regional development and democratisation processes in southern Africa, including her monograph, Participatory Governance? Citizens and the State in South Africa (ACCEDE, 2007). She serves as South African coordinator of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability. Chris Tapscott is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa and was formerly the founding director of the School of Government in the same institution. His current research focus is on the local state and the political and organisational challenges which this poses to the development of substantive participatory democracy in countries of the South. He has been an active member of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability.