This volume is a result of research into the policies, programmes and experiences identified as best practices in the Country Review Reports (CRRs) of twelve countries published under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), from Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda. The research was commissioned and coordinated by the Governance and APRM Programme of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). To justify this inquiry, they argued, among others, that with the APRM conceived a voluntary mechanism, and in the absence of 'hard pressure' for compliance, incentives – rather than sanctions – could be the way to strengthen the APRM. Thus the importance of best practices: as templates and models for reform, and as a counterbalance to the temptation to concentrate on what is not working in Africa. In this title, therefore, best practices identified in the twelve CRRs are examined critically and methodically with a view to understanding: i) how they are conceptualised within the APRM (including their definition and how they are intended to be used to achieve the desired results); ii) how the items reported as best practices qualify to be regarded as such in the sense of being demonstrably better than the rest, replicable and addressing APRM goals; and iii) how they can be strengthened for use as material from peer learning within the APRM and around the continent. The authors are drawn from academia and policy research institutions in Africa, and have been associated with the APRM in various capacities since its inception, including direct research for APRM country self-assessment, membership in APRM Country Review Missions and acting as consultants and specialists for the APRM's Continental Secretariat.