Straightforward critics or would-be candidates? International migrants and the management of local affairs and development: the case of the Senegal River valley

The Senegal River valley has long been one of the main sources of out-migration to international destinations in the country, and migrants' remittances are important for the survival of households and for the economic and social development of the area. Investments in home towns and a highly critical view of the ways in which local affairs are managed encourage migrants' active involvement in local development through associations and, increasingly, in local politics. This paper describes these processes in the light of decentralization in Senegal, and especially the transferring of competences on the use of state and public lands to local government.