This colloquium is the third conference in the series “Meeting process for debate and proposals on governance in Africa”, a cycle of conferences that started in 2007 in Bamako-Mali. After the meeting in Polokwane-South Africa (June 2008), the Arusha colloquium gathered during three days (Nov.30th to Dec.2nd 2009) about sixty participants coming from five countries of the Eastern African sub-region (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania), from Southern Africa, and West Africa, as well as representatives from Latin America, the United-States, and France. The themes of the debate: sources of power legitimacy, constitutional processes, and the management of collective public goods. The participants are researchers, representatives of national and international public institutions, traditional and religious authorities, civil society leaders, trade unionists, media professionals, and representatives of the private sector. For the IRG and its partners, the challenge of this type of meeting is to highlight the benefits of a reflection on legitimacy in the evolution and reform of national and international public policies.