Recent literature on the effectiveness of donor programmes points to the importance of understanding the political context within which reforms are taking place. The characteristics of the power sector make reform intensely political in almost all countries and donor projects have sometimes failed because of an inability to navigate the local politics of reform. This article reviews what is known about how donors have taken politics into account in designing and implementing power sector reform programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. It illustrates the challenges which donors have faced with reference to a case study of donor attempts to support power sector reform in Tanzania. The article draws on documentary evidence from major donors as well as a set of qualitative interviews with experienced project supervisors to provide a set of lessons for donors about how to incorporate political context into the design and implementation of power sector projects.

中文翻译：

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电力改革的政治经济学

有关捐助者计划有效性的最新文献指出，必须了解进行改革的政治环境。电力部门的特征使改革在几乎所有国家都成为激烈的政治活动，而捐助者项目有时由于无法驾驭地方改革政治而失败。本文回顾了有关在撒哈拉以南非洲设计和实施电力部门改革计划时，捐助者如何考虑政治因素的已知信息。它以捐助者为支持坦桑尼亚电力部门改革所做的尝试为例，说明了捐助者所面临的挑战。