The present APAD Bulletin contains a selection of papers presented at the APAD 2010 Conference in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on the theme "Engaging Anthropology for Development and Social Change: Practices, Discourses and Ethics." Anthropological engagements face important challenges at the interface of research and development. The different ways by which anthropologists take on societal problems - either in their research capacity, as development experts, as activists, or as citizen - are inscribed in a longstanding debate. In this APAD Bulletin, the contributors deal with the central questions of how and under which conditions anthropology engages with society. The papers range from epistemological reflections and methodological queries to the anthropology of per diem and of public health, as well as to practical problems confronting anthropologists engaged in development cooperation. PLEASE NOTE: This volume's Introduction is in English text. The remaining text is French language text only. There is no English translation.] (Series: APAD Bulletin - Vol. 34)

Over the last decade West African villages, rural towns, and urban neighbourhoods have experienced changes resulting from democratisation and decentralisation processes. While much hope was invested in decentralisation policies in the 1990s, today there is a need to look at everyday decentralisation practices. In this volume, authors of different scholarly backgrounds focus on political, economic and cultural aspects of decentralisation. By exploring party politics, water provision, schooling, territorial division and cultural understanding the case-studies highlight core stakes and fundamental contradictions of present-day decentralisation in West Africa.