The big challenge for Britain's aid policy is to reconcile concerns about governance in developing countries with the commitment dramatically to scale up aid. Aid is set to double. But governance in Africa in particular is often poor - and not significantly improving. Political risk will need to be taken much more seriously in coming years. An emphasis on governance is at heart of the new White Paper on international development.

This paper highlights six main "arenas" that matter in terms of governance. These are all areas where donors can help support progress:

- civil society, where citizens raise and become aware of political issues;

- political society, where societal interests are aggregated in politics - elections, parliaments and political parties;

- government, executive stewardship of the country as a whole;

- bureaucracy, where policies are implemented;

- economic society, refers to the vital state-market relations - the nature of property rights and regulations; and

- judiciary, where disputes are settled - the formal and informal mechanisms.