Souleymane Doumbia. Multinational Corporations in West Africa: Building Decentralized Partnerships. London: Routledge, 2024. 220 pp. £135.00. Paperback. ISBN: 9781032535456.

The involvement of multinational corporations (MNCs) in African development has been a subject of continuous scholarly debate, often characterized by polarized perspectives, either as predatory agents of neocolonialism or as key drivers of economic transformation.In Multinational Corporations in West Africa: Building Decentralized Partnerships, Souleymane Doumbia offers a compelling contribution that transcends these binaries.He shifts attention to the oftenoverlooked realm of informal, decentralized engagements between MNCs and local actors, arguing that such partnerships can yield tangible socioeconomic benefits in contexts where formal state institutions are weak or absent.The book is structured into five chapters.It begins with a conceptual and methodological overview, followed by a review of territorialized investment patterns in sub-Saharan Africa.The core of the book lies in its empirical analysis of three country case studies (Niger, Ghana, and Liberia) which serve to illustrate the dynamics of decentralized corporate-community partnerships.The final chapter draws broader implications for the role of informality in shaping development outcomes and governance structures.Doumbia's central thesis is that informal partnerships between MNCs and local or community-based authorities can serve as viable alternatives to rigid, state-mediated governance models.These partnerships, he argues, lower transaction costs, enhance investment protection, and enable the co-production of public goods.This argument is situated within the concept of "negotiated accountability," a framework through which local actors exert influence via relational mechanisms, social norms, and informal sanctions rather than through formal legal processes.The book's methodological approach is a notable strength.Drawing on extensive qualitative fieldwork, including interviews, community-level observations, and institutional analysis, Doumbia captures the subtle interplay between corporate interests and community expectations.In Niger, for instance, he shows how mining companies work directly with village elders and local NGOs to construct health clinics and water systems, bypassing inefficient or absent state structures.Similar dynamics are observed in Ghana and Liberia, where negotiated relationships between MNCs and local stakeholders shape the delivery of basic services and foster social stability.One of the book's most valuable contributions is its critique of the dichotomous framing of MNCs as either exploitative or philanthropic.Doumbia presents