Paramount chieftaincy is a traditional system of local government and an integral element of governance in some African countries such as Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. This study notes that in 2007 Africa saw 12 conflicts in 10 countries. Abstract. Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in African society . The challenge facing Africas leadersperhaps above all othersis how to govern under conditions of ethnic diversity. 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). The indigenous political system had some democratic features. The nature of governance is central because it determines whether the exercise of authority is viewed as legitimate. These circumstances can generate an authoritarian reflex and the temptation to circle the wagons against all sources of potential opposition. Another common feature is the involvement of traditional authorities in the governance process, at least at the local level. This study points to a marked increase in state-based conflicts, owing in significant part to the inter-mixture of Islamic State factions into pre-existing conflicts. The arguments against traditional institutions are countered by arguments that consider traditional institutions to be indispensable and that they should be the foundations of African institutions of governance (Davidson, 1992). At times, these traditional security system elements are sufficient enough for some uses, but there's certainly no denying . Chieftaincy is further plagued with its own internal problems, including issues of relevance, succession, patriarchy, jurisdiction, corruption and intra-tribal conflict. Additionally, the Guurti is charged with resolving conflicts in the country using traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. 1.4. Some live in remote areas beyond the reach of some of the institutions of the state, such as courts. By 2016, 35 AU members had joined it, but less than half actually subjected themselves to being assessed. Act,12 the African system of governance was changed and transformed, and new structures were put in place of old ones.13 Under the Union of South Africa, the Gov- Another basic question is, whom to include? The debate is defined by "traditionalists" and "modernists." . Government and the Political System 2.1. The movement towards a formal state system is characterized by its emphasis on retribution and punishment. This chapter examines traditional leadership within the context of the emerging constitutional democracy in Ghana. Security challenges can impose tough choices on governments that may act in ways that compound the problem, opening the door to heightened risks of corruption and the slippery slope of working with criminal entities. There is also the question of inclusion of specific demographic cohorts: women, youth, and migrants from rural to urban areas (including migrant women) all face issues of exclusion that can have an impact on conflict and governance. However, the winner takes all system in the individual states is a democracy type of voting system, as the minority gets none of the electoral college votes. Ethiopias monarchy ended in 1974 while the other three remain, with only the king of Swaziland enjoying absolute power. Furthermore, for generations, Africans were taught the Western notion of the tribe as . by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University. The guiding principle behind these two attributes is that conflict is a societal problem and that resolving conflict requires societal engagement. This section attempts to explain these seemingly contradictory implications of traditional institutions. There is a basic distinction between those systems with a centralized authority exercised through the machinery of government and those without any such authority in which . More frequently, this form of rule operates at the sub-state level as in the case of the emir of Kano or the Sultan of Sokoto in Nigeria or the former royal establishments of the Baganda (Uganda) or the Ashanti (Ghana). Consequently, national and regional governance factors interact continuously. You cant impose middle class values on a pre-industrial society.13. African political elites are more determined than ever to shape their own destiny, and they are doing so. States would be more effective in reforming the traditional judicial system if they recognized them rather than neglecting them, as often is the case. A command economy, also known as a planned economy, is one in which the central government plans, organizes, and controls all economic activities to maximize social welfare. In Botswana, for example, the consensual decision-making process in the kgotla (public meeting) regulates the power of the chiefs. His dramatic tenure since April of 2018 appears to be shaking up the states creaky authoritarian services and creating the space for important adaptations such as ending a long-standing state of emergency, freeing political prisoners, reaching out to a wide range of foreign partners, and extending the olive branch to Eritrea with whom Ethiopia had fought a costly war. This situation supported an external orientation in African politics in which Cold War reference points and former colonial relationships assured that African governments often developed only a limited sense of connection to their own societies. The initial constitutions and legal systems were derived from the terminal colonial era. While comprehensive empirical studies on the magnitude of adherence to traditional institutions are lacking, some studies point out that most people in rural areas prefer the judicial service provided by traditional institutions to those of the state, for a variety of reasons (Logan, 2011; Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). Oftentimes, however, they contradict each other, creating problems associated with institutional incoherence. This outline leads us to examine more closely the sources of legitimacy in African governance systems. Among the key challenges associated with institutional fragmentation are the following: Policy incoherence: Fragmented economies and institutions represent dichotomous socioeconomic spaces, which makes it highly challenging for policy to address equitably the interests of the populations in these separate socioeconomic spaces. Africa contains more sovereign nations than any other continent, with 54 countries compared to Asia's 47. Another layer represents the societal norms and customs that differ along various cultural traits. African conflict trends point to a complex picture, made more so by the differing methodologies used by different research groups. The colonial system constitutes the second section. In Module Seven A: African History, you explored the histories of a wide diversity of pre-colonial African societies. The government is undertaking a review of local government, which includes a commitment to introduce direct election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs). The imperative for inclusion raises many questions: should the priority be to achieve inclusion of diverse elites, of ethnic and confessional constituencies, of a sample of grass roots opinion leaders? Overturning regimes in Africas often fragile states could become easier to do, without necessarily leading to better governance. Hoover scholars offer analysis of current policy challenges and provide solutions on how America can advance freedom, peace, and prosperity. Chiefs with limited power: Another category of chiefs is those that are hereditary, like the paramount chiefs, but have limited powers. The Alafin as the political head of the empire was . Any insurrection by a segment of the population has the potential to bring about not only the downfall of governments but also the collapse of the entire apparatus of the state because the popular foundation of the African state is weak. To sum up, traditional institutions provide vital governance services to communities that operate under traditional socioeconomic spaces. Why can't democracy with African characteristics maintain the values, culture and traditional system of handling indiscipline, injustice and information management in society to take firm roots. It may be good to note, as a preliminary, that African political systems of the past dis played considerable variety. In West Africa, a griot is a praise singer or poet who possesses a repository of oral tradition passed down from generation to generation. On the opposite side are the decentralized systems, led by a council of elders, that command little formal power. Institutions represent an enduring collection of formal laws and informal rules, customs, codes of conduct, and organized practices that shape human behavior and interaction. As a result, it becomes highly complex to analyze their roles and structures without specifying the time frame. The end of colonialism, however, did not end institutional dichotomy, despite attempts by some postcolonial African states to abolish the traditional system, especially the chieftaincy-based authority systems. History. As institutional scholars state, institutional incompatibility leads to societal conflicts by projecting different laws governing societal interactions (Eisenstadt, 1968; Helmke & Levitsky, 2004; March & Olsen, 1984; North, 1990; Olsen, 2007). Most of the states that had attempted to abolish chieftaincy have retracted the abolitionist decrees and reinstated chiefs. The Pre-Colonial Period: From the Ashes of Pharaohs to the Berlin Conference At the end of the prehistoric period (10 000 BC), some African nomadic bands began to In general, decentralized political systems, which are often elder-based with group leadership, have received little attention, even though these systems are widespread and have the institutions of judicial systems and mechanisms of conflict resolution and allocation of resources, like the institutions of the centralized systems. Integration of traditional and modern governance systems in Africa. The colonial state, for example, invented chiefs where there were no centralized authority systems and imposed them on the decentralized traditional systems, as among the Ibo of Eastern Nigeria, the Tonga in Zambia, various communities in Kenya, and the communities in Somalia. As a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) study (2007) notes, traditional leaders often operate as custodians of customary law and communal assets, especially land. Different property rights laws are a notable source of conflict in many African countries. A look at the economic systems of the adherents of the two institutional systems also gives a good indication of the relations between economic and institutional systems. The long-term, global pushback by the leading authoritarian powers against liberal governance norms has consequences in Africa and other regions as governments directly act to close the space for civil society to operate. However, institutions are rarely static and they undergo changes induced by internal transformations of broader socioeconomic systems or by external influences or imposition, and in some cases by a combination of the two forces. African Traditional Political System and Institution: University of The Gambia, Faculty of humanities and social sciences. Typically, such leaders scheme to rig elections or to change constitutional term limitsactions seen in recent years in such countries as Rwanda and Uganda. Despite such changes, these institutions are referred to as traditional not because they continue to exist in an unadulterated form as they did in Africas precolonial past but because they are largely born of the precolonial political systems and are adhered to principally, although not exclusively, by the population in the traditional (subsistent) sectors of the economy. This section grapples with the questions of whether traditional institutions are relevant in the governance of contemporary Africa and what implications their endurance has on Africas socioeconomic development. Impact of Historical Origins of African State System2. Some African nations are prosperous while others struggle. The structures of leadership of African traditional institutions are diverse and they have yet to be mapped out comprehensively. One common feature is recognition of customary property rights laws, especially that of land. Since institutional fragmentation is a major obstacle to nation-building and democratization, it is imperative that African countries address it and forge institutional harmony. The leader is accountable to various levels of elders, who serve as legislators and as judges (Legesse, 1973; Taa, 2017). Some African leaders such as Ghanas Jerry Rawlings, Zambias Kenneth Kaunda, or Mozambiques Joachim Chissano accept and respect term limits and stand down. Perhaps a more realistic transitional approach would be to reconcile the parallel institutions while simultaneously pursuing policies that transform traditional economic systems. Africa's tumultuous political history has resulted in extreme disparities between the wealth and stability of its countries. The link between conflict and governance is a two-way street. Afrocentrism, also called Africentrism, cultural and political movement whose mainly African American adherents regard themselves and all other Blacks as syncretic Africans and believe that their worldview should positively reflect traditional African values. Extensive survey research is required to estimate the size of adherents to traditional institutions. However, they do not have custodianship of land and they generally do not dispense justice on their own. The campaign by some (but not all) African states to pull out of the International Criminal Court is but one illustration of the trend. By Sulayman Sanneh Date: September 10th, 2021. fIntroduction Africa is a vast and . 3. Located on the campus of Stanford University and in Washington, DC, the Hoover Institution is the nations preeminent research center dedicated to generating policy ideas that promote economic prosperity, national security, and democratic governance. Misguided policies at the national level combined with cultural constraints facing these social groups may increase exclusion and create seeds of future trouble. Communities like the Abagusii, Ameru, Akamba, Mijikenda, and Agikuyu in Kenya had this system of government. First, many of the conflicts enumerated take place within a limited number of conflict-affected countries and in clearly-defined geographic zones (the Sahel and Nigeria; Central Africa; and the Horn.) Hindrance to democratization: Perhaps among the most important challenges institutional fragmentation poses is to the process of democratization. Botswanas strategy has largely revolved around integrating parallel judicial systems. African Politics: A Very Short Introduction explores how politics is practised on the African continent, providing an overview of the different states and their systems. . It is also challenging to map them out without specifying their time frame. Using a second conflict lens, the number of non-state conflicts has increased dramatically in recent years, peaking in 2017 with 50 non-state conflicts, compared to 24 in 2011. (2005), customary systems operating outside of the state regime are often the dominant form of regulation and dispute resolution, covering up to 90% of the population in parts of Africa. This fragmentation is also unlikely to go away anytime soon on its own. Its ability to influence policy is limited in large part because of its institutional detachment from the state and because of its poverty and lack of capacity to participate in the political process. This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in 0.093 seconds, Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely. Department of Political Science, Pennsylvania State University, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Contentious Politics and Political Violence, Political Values, Beliefs, and Ideologies, Why African Traditional Institutions Endure, Authority Systems of Africas Traditional Institutions, Relevance and Paradox of Traditional Institutions, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1347, United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, Global Actors: Networks, Elites, and Institutions, Traditional Leaders and Development in Africa. Chester A. Crocker is the James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University. In this paper, I look first at the emergence of the African state system historically, including colonial legacies and the Cold Wars impact on governance dynamics. Rule that is based on predation and political monopoly is unlikely to enjoy genuine popular legitimacy, but it can linger for decades unless there are effective countervailing institutions and power centers. Why traditional institutional systems endure, how large the adherents to them is, and why populations, especially in rural areas, continue to rely on traditional institutions, even when an alternative system is provided by the state, and what the implications of institutional dichotomy is are questions that have not yet received adequate attention in the literature. They succeed when there are political conditions that permit a broad coalition to impose pluralist political institutions and limits and restraints on ruling elites.20 Thus, resilience of both state and society may hinge in the end on the rule of law replacing the rule of men. The fourth part draws a conclusion with a tentative proposal on how the traditional institutions might be reconciled with the formal institutions to address the problem of institutional incoherence. This approach to governance was prominent in the Oyo empire. We do not yet know whether such institutions will consistently emerge, starting with relatively well-governed states, such as Ghana or Senegal, as a result of repeated, successful alternations of power; or whether they will only occur when Africas political systems burst apart and are reconfigured. Wise leadership respects ethnic diversity and works toward inclusive policies. Hoover scholars form the Institutions core and create breakthrough ideas aligned with our mission and ideals. For these and other reasons, the state-society gap lies at the heart of the problems faced by many states. What sets Hoover apart from all other policy organizations is its status as a center of scholarly excellence, its locus as a forum of scholarly discussion of public policy, and its ability to bring the conclusions of this scholarship to a public audience. 1. This discussion leads to an analysis of African conflict trends to help identify the most conflict-burdened sub-regions and to highlight the intimate link between governance and conflict patterns. Certain offences were regarded as serious offences. Introduction: The Meaning of the Concept Government 1.1. The Aqils (elders) of Somalia and the chiefs in Kenya are good examples. Ehret 2002 emphasizes the diversity and long history of precolonial social and political formations, whereas Curtin, et al. Admittedly, the problem is by no means uniquely African, but it is very commonly experienced in Africa. Learn more about joining the community of supporters and scholars working together to advance Hoovers mission and values. By the mid-1970s, the military held power in one-third of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. 2. There are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. Tribes had relatively little power outside their own group during the colonial period. Of the latter, 10 achieved the top rating of free, a conclusion close to ratings by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).9 A more bullish reading drawn again from multiple sources is that over 60% of people in sub-Saharan Africa live in free or partly free countries, a situation that enabled a Brookings Institution study to conclude that the region [is] moving in fits and starts towards greater democratic consolidation.10 Countries absent from the apparent democratic wave missed its beginnings in the early and mid-1990s, became caught up in protracted or recurrent civil conflicts, or degenerated as a result of electoral violence or big men patrimonialism. A more recent example of adaptive resilience is being demonstrated by Ethiopias Abiy Ahmed. Both can be identified as forms of governance. Examine the definitions, strengths, and weaknesses of several common governments: monarchy, theocracy . There are very few similarities between democracy and dictatorship. Cookie Settings. This we might call transformative resilience.21. References: Blakemore and Cooksey (1980). Most of the regions states were defined geographically by European cartographers at the start of the colonial period. "Law" in traditional Igbo and other African societies assumes a wide dimension and should be understood, interpreted, and applied as such, even if such a definition conflicts with the Western idea. Despite undergoing changes, present-day African traditional institutions, namely the customary laws, the judicial systems and conflict resolution mechanisms, and the property rights and resource allocation practices, largely originate from formal institutions of governance that existed under precolonial African political systems. Interestingly, small and mid-size state leaders have won the award so far.) In Africa, as in every region, it is the quality and characteristics of governance that shape the level of peace and stability and the prospects for economic development. Less than 20% of Africa's states achieved statehood following rebellion or armed insurgency; in the others, independence flowed from . But it also reflects the impact of Arab, Russian, Chinese, Indian, European and U.S. vectors of influence which project their differences into African societies. On the one hand, they recognize the need for strong, responsive state institutions; weak, fragile states do not lead to good governance. This layer of institutions is the subject of inquiry of this article. In addition to these measures, reconciling fragmented institutions would be more successful when governments invest more resources in transforming the traditional socioeconomic space. Such chiefs also have rather limited powers. MyHoover delivers a personalized experience atHoover.org. Second, the levels of direct battle deaths from these events is relatively low when compared with far higher levels in the wars of the Middle East. On the eve of the departure of the colonial power, the Nigerian power elite in collusion with the departing colonial authority, drew up an elaborate constitution for a liberal bourgeois state - complete with provisions for parties in government and those in opposition. 79 (3), (1995) pp. As a result, customary law, which often is not recognized by the state or is recognized only when it does not contradict the constitution, does not protect communities from possible transgressions by the state. The Dutch dispatched an embassy to the Asantehene's . Under conditions where nation-building is in a formative stage, the retribution-seeking judicial system and the winner-take-all multiparty election systems often lead to combustible conditions, which undermine the democratization process. The selection, however, is often from the children of a chief. In some cases, community elders select future Sultanes at a young age and groom them for the position. One can identify five bases of regime legitimacy in the African context today. Somalilands strategy has brought traditional leaders into an active role in the countrys formal governance by creating an upper house in parliament, the Guurti, where traditional leaders exercise the power of approving all bills drafted by the lower house of parliament. The means by which the traditional government reached out to her subjects varied from sounds, signs to symbol, and the central disseminator was the "town crier". Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Constitutions of postcolonial states have further limited the power of chiefs. Land privatization is, thus, unworkable in pastoral communities, as communal land ownership would be unworkable in a capitalist economy. With the dawn of colonialism in Africa, the traditional African government was sys-tematically weakened, and the strong and influential bond between traditional lead- . These dynamics often lead to increased state fragility or the re-authoritarianization of once more participatory governance systems.12 The trend is sometimes, ironically, promoted by western firms and governments more interested in commercial access and getting along with existing governments than with durable political and economic development. In direct contrast is the second model: statist, performance-based legitimacy, measured typically in terms of economic growth and domestic stability as well as government-provided servicesthe legitimacy claimed by leaders in Uganda and Rwanda, among others. Against this broad picture, what is striking is the more recent downward trend in democratic governance in Africa and the relative position of African governance when viewed on a global basis. Three layers of institutions characterize most African countries. Government as a Structural Element of Society 2.2.
Many others choose the customary laws and conflict resolution mechanisms because they correspond better to their way of life. Throughout our over one-hundred-year history, our work has directly led to policies that have produced greater freedom, democracy, and opportunity in the United States and the world. Large countries such as the DRC, Ethiopia, and Mozambique are likely to experience pressures against centralized, authoritarian, or one-party governance (whether accompanied by real elections or not). Towards a Definition of Government 1.3. Others choose the traditional institutions, for example, in settling disputes because of lower transactional costs. Figure 1 captures this turn to authoritarianism in postindependence Africa. Chiefs administer land and people, contribute to the creation of rules that regulate the lives of those under their jurisdiction, and are called on to solve disputes among their subjects. The traditional African religions (or traditional beliefs and practices of African people) are a set of highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions . Rather, they are conveners of assemblies of elders or lower level chiefs who deliberate on settlement of disputes. The regime in this case captures the state, co-opts the security organs, and dissolves civil society. One layer represents the formal institutions (laws) of the state. 28, (1984) pp. Legitimacy based on successful predation and state capture was well known to the Plantagenets and Tudors as well as the Hapsburgs, Medicis, and Romanovs, to say nothing of the Mughal descendants of Genghis Khan.14 In this fifth model of imagined legitimacy, some African leaders operate essentially on patrimonial principles that Vladimir Putin can easily recognize (the Dos Santos era in Angola, the DRC under Mobutu and Kabila, the Eyadema, Bongo, Biya, and Obiang regimes in Togo, Gabon, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea, respectively).15 Such regimes may seek to perpetuate themselves by positioning wives or sons to inherit power. Transforming the traditional economic system is also likely to require embracing and utilizing the traditional institutional systems as vehicles for the provision of public services. All life was religious . A third argument claims that chieftaincy heightens primordial loyalties, as chiefs constitute the foci of ethnic identities (Simwinga quoted in van Binsberger, 1987, p. 156). A partial explanation as to why the traditional systems endure was given in the section Why African Traditional Institutions Endure. The argument in that section was that they endure primarily because they are compatible with traditional economic systems, under which large segments of the African population still operate. The implementation of these systems often . The earliest known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt . The Constitution states that the institution, status and roles of traditional leadership, according to customary law, are recognised. Leaders may not be the only ones who support this definition of legitimacy. The relationship between traditional leadership and inherited western-style governance institutions often generates tensions. The optimistic replyand it is a powerful oneis that Africans will gradually build inclusive political and economic institutions.18 This, however, requires wise leadership. But the context in which their choices are made is directly influenced by global political trends and the room for maneuver that these give to individual governments and their leaders. The council of elders, religious leaders, and administrative staff of the chiefs exercise checks on the power of the leaders and keep them accountable (Beattie, 1967; Busia, 1968; Coplan & Quinlan, 1997; Jones, 1983; Osaghae, 1989). The features associated with this new form of governmental administration deal with smaller government responsibility for providing goods and services. Following decolonization, several African countries attempted to abolish aspects of the traditional institutional systems. The traditional and informal justice systems, it is argued offers greater access to justice. Prominent among these Sudanic states was the Soninke Kingdom of Ancient Ghana. Another reason is that African leaders of the postcolonial state, who wanted to consolidate their power, did not want other points of power that would compromise their control. Regardless, fragmentation of institutional systems poses a number of serious challenges to Africas governance and economic development.
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