Recent development cooperation with Guinea‐Bissau, focusing on good governance, statebuilding
and conflict prevention, did not contribute to democratization nor to the stabilization
of volatile political, military and economic structures. The portrayal of Guinea‐
Bissau as failed a “narco‐state”, as well as Western aid meant to stabilize this state, are
both based on dubious concepts. Certainly, the impact of drug trafficking could endanger
democratization and state‐building if continued unchecked. However, the most pressing
need is not state‐building facilitated by external aid that is poorly rooted in the social and
political fabric of the country. Rather, it is grassroots nation‐building that is a pre‐condition
for the creation of viable state institutions.
Keywords: Guinea‐Bissau, elections, democratization, informal institutions, aid, nationbuilding,
institution building, drug trafficking
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