Based on existing evidence, the authority systems in postcolonial Africa lie in a continuum between two polar points. The opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
. The link between conflict and governance is a two-way street. South Africas strategy revolves around recognition of customary law when it does not conflict with the constitution and involves traditional authorities in local governance. f Basic Features cont. However, there are customs and various arrangements that restrain their power. Although much has been lost in the shadows and fogs of a time before people created written accounts, historians . General Overviews. The endurance of traditional institutions entails complex and paradoxical implications for contemporary Africas governance. 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. You cant impose middle class values on a pre-industrial society.13. The same factors that hinder nation-building hinder democratization. Government and the Political System 2.1. 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. Legitimate authority, in turn, is based on accepted laws and norms rather than the arbitrary, unconstrained power of the rulers. The result is transitory resilience of the regime, but shaky political stability, declining cohesion, and eventual conflict or violent change. Violating customary property rights, especially land takings, without adequate compensation impedes institutional reconciliation by impoverishing rather than transforming communities operating in the traditional economic system. Chiefs with limited power: Another category of chiefs is those that are hereditary, like the paramount chiefs, but have limited powers. For example, is it more effective to negotiate a power-sharing pact among key parties and social groups (as in Kenya) or is there possible merit in a periodic national dialogue to address issues that risk triggering conflict? Prominent among these Sudanic states was the Soninke Kingdom of Ancient Ghana. Africas geopolitical environment is shaped by Africans to a considerable degree. Safeguarding womens rights thus becomes hard without transforming the economic system under which they operate. Unfortunately, transforming the traditional sector is not an easy undertaking and cannot be achieved in a reasonably short time. There are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. With respect to their relevance, traditional institutions remain indispensable for several reasons. After examining the history, challenges, and opportunities for the institution of traditional leadership within a modern democracy, the chapter considers the effect of the current constitutional guarantee for chieftaincy and evaluates its practical workability and structural efficiency under the current governance system. In many cases, the invented chieftaincies were unsuccessful in displacing the consensus-based governance structures (Gartrell, 1983; Uwazie, 1994). African Traditional Political System and Institution: University of The Gambia, Faculty of humanities and social sciences. Many others choose the customary laws and conflict resolution mechanisms because they correspond better to their way of life. The term covers the expressed commands of In addition, according to Chirayath et al. Evidence from case studies, however, suggests that the size of adherents varies from country to country. 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. Misguided policies at the national level combined with cultural constraints facing these social groups may increase exclusion and create seeds of future trouble. In the postcolonial era, their roles changed again. No doubt rural communities participate in elections, although they are hardly represented in national assemblies by people from their own socioeconomic space. The population in the traditional system thus faces a vicious cycle of deprivation. Lawmaking: government makes laws to regulate the behavior of its citizens. In traditional African communities, it was not possible to distinguish between religious and non-religious areas of life. In Sierra Leone, for example, approximately 85% of the population falls under the jurisdiction of customary law, defined under the constitution as the rules of law which, by custom, are applicable to particular communities in Sierra Leone. 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. Chiefs such as those of the Nuer and Dinka are examples of this category. Less than 20% of Africas states achieved statehood following rebellion or armed insurgency; in the others, independence flowed from peaceful transfers of authority from colonial officials to African political elites. One can identify five bases of regime legitimacy in the African context today. Government: A Multifarious Concept 1.2. Within this spectrum, some eight types of leadership structures can be identified. The system of government in the traditional Yoruba society was partially centralised and highly democratic. 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. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural, include belief in a supreme creator, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of magic and traditional African . Non-official institutions and civil society may have very different ideas from the national government on this issue, leading to debates about legitimacy. Countries such as Burkina Faso, Guinea, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, for example, attempted to strip chiefs of most of their authority or even abolish chieftaincy altogether. A more recent argument is that traditional institutions are incompatible with economic, social, and civil rights (Chirayath, Sage, & Woolcock, 2005). 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. Legal norms are an integral part of the discussion about inclusivity since they affect every aspect of economic and personal life; this poses a critical question over whether individual rights or group rights take precedence in the normative hierarchy. It is imperative that customary land rights are recognized and respected so that communities in the traditional economic system exercise control of land and other resources under their customary ownership, at least until alternative sources of employment are developed to absorb those who might be displaced. the system even after independence. Rather, they are conveners of assemblies of elders or lower level chiefs who deliberate on settlement of disputes. One is the controversy over what constitutes traditional institutions and if the African institutions referred to as traditional in this inquiry are truly indigenous traditions, since colonialism as well as the postcolonial state have altered them notably, as Zack-Williams (2002) and Kilson (1966) observe. This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in. The African state system has gradually developed a stronger indigenous quality only in the last twenty-five years or so. However, three countries, Botswana, Somaliland, and South Africa, have undertaken differing measures with varying levels of success. He served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 1981 to 1989. The movement towards a formal state system is characterized by its emphasis on retribution and punishment. THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW, Fenrich, Galizzi, Higgins, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2011, 27 Pages
. 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. These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the government. But African societies are exposed to especially severe pressures, and governments must operate in an environment of high social demands and limited resources and capacity with which to meet them. 1. Oromos are one of the largest ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa belonging to the Cushitic-speaking peoples in Northeastern Africa in general and in modern Ethiopia and Kenya in particular. One layer represents the formal institutions (laws) of the state. These include - murder, burglary, landcase, witchcraft, profaning the deities and homicide. A strict democracy would enforce the "popular vote" total over the entire United States. Hoover scholars form the Institutions core and create breakthrough ideas aligned with our mission and ideals. Paramount chiefs with rather weak system of accountability: The Buganda of Uganda and the Nupe in Nigeria are good examples. not because of, the unique features of US democracy . On the one side, there are the centralized systems where leaders command near absolute power. Council of elders: These systems essentially operate on consensual decision-making arrangements that vary from one place to another. Such post-electoral pacts reflect the conclusion that stability is more important than democracy. An alternative strategy of bringing about institutional harmony would be to transform the traditional economic systems into an exchange-based economy that would be compatible with the formal institutions of the state. A third, less often recognized base of legitimacy can be called conventional African diplomatic legitimacy wherein a governmenthowever imperfectly establishedis no more imperfect than the standard established by its regional neighbors. The essay concludes with a sobering reflection on the challenge of achieving resilient governance. for a democratic system of government. Towards a Definition of Government 1.3. Both types of government can be effective or infective depending on . For Acemoglu and Robinson, such turning points occur in specific, unique historical circumstances that arise in a societys development. 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? Rules of procedure were established through customs and traditions some with oral, some with written constitutions Women played active roles in the political system including holding leadership and military positions. But established and recognized forms of inherited rule cannot be lightly dismissed as un-modern, especially when linked to the identity of an ethnic or tribal group, and could be construed as a building block of legitimacy. The nature of governance is central because it determines whether the exercise of authority is viewed as legitimate. Due to the influence of previous South African and Nigerian leaders, the African Union established the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to review and report on a range of governance criteria. Regardless, fragmentation of institutional systems poses a number of serious challenges to Africas governance and economic development. The evidence suggests that traditional institutions have continued to metamorphose under the postcolonial state, as Africas socioeconomic systems continue to evolve. There were several reasons for such measures. The roles that traditional authorities can play in the process of good governance can broadly be separated into three categories: first, their advisory role to government, as well as their participatory role in the administration of regions and districts; second, their developmental role, complementing government?s efforts in mobilizing the . Most of the regions states were defined geographically by European cartographers at the start of the colonial period. The cases of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan suggest that each case must be assessed on its own merits. The place and role of African Youth in Pre-independence African Governance Systems 19-20 1.7. Others contend that African countries need to follow a mixed institutional system incorporating the traditional and formal systems (Sklar, 2003). The colonial system constitutes the second section. 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. Large states and those with complex ethnic and geographic featurese.g., the DRC, Nigeria, Uganda, the Sudans, Ethiopiamay be especially prone to such multi-sourced violence. Yet, the traditional judicial system in most cases operates outside of the states institutional framework. Regional governance comes into play here, and certain precedents may get set and then ratified by regional or sub-regional organizations. Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Politics. Introduction: The Meaning of the Concept Government 1.1. It considers the nature of the state in sub-Saharan Africa and why its state structures are generally weaker than elsewhere in the world. A second objective is to draw a tentative typology of the different authority systems of Africas traditional institutions. 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. President Muhammadu Buhari is currently the federal head of state and government. Others choose the traditional institutions, for example, in settling disputes because of lower transactional costs. African indigenous education was. By the mid-1970s, the politics of Africa had turned authoritarian. As a result, it becomes highly complex to analyze their roles and structures without specifying the time frame. The leaders, their families and allies are exempt. Oftentimes, however, they contradict each other, creating problems associated with institutional incoherence. The nature of governance is central because it determines whether the exercise of authority is viewed as legitimate. Command economies, as opposed to free-market economies, do not allow market forces like supply and demand to determine production or prices. Traditional institutions already adjudicate undisclosed but large proportions of rural disputes. 134-141. Highlight 5 features of government. The three countries have pursued rather different strategies of reconciling their institutional systems and it remains to be seen if any of their strategies will deliver the expected results, although all three countries have already registered some progress in reducing conflicts and in advancing the democratization process relative to countries around them. 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. Such a consensus-building mechanism can help resolve many of the conflicts related to diversity management and nation-building. Some regimes seem resilient because of their apparent staying power but actually have a narrow base of (typically ethnic or regional) support. 1.4. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. A third objective is to examine the relevance of traditional institutions. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Additionally, the transaction costs for services provided by the traditional institutions are much lower than the services provided by the state. As noted, African countries have experienced the rise of the modern (capitalist) economic system along with its corresponding institutional systems. Almost at a stroke, the relationships between African governments and the major powers and major sources of concessional finance were upended, while political liberalization in the former Soviet bloc helped to trigger global political shock waves. The modern African state system has been gradually Africanized, albeit on more or less the identical territorial basis it began with at the time of decolonization in the second half of the 20th century. 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at There is strong demand for jobs, better economic management, reduced inequality and corruption and such outcome deliverables as health, education and infrastructure.22 Those outcomes require effective governance institutions. Suggested Citation, 33 West 60th StreetNew York, NY 10023United States, Public International Law: Sources eJournal, Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic, Political Institutions: Parties, Interest Groups & Other Political Organizations eJournal, Political Institutions: Legislatures eJournal, We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. The traditional justice system, thus, does not have the power to grant any rights beyond the local level. Analysis here is thus limited to traditional authority systems under the postcolonial experience. As a result, they are not dispensable as long as the traditional economic systems endure. In Botswana, for example, the consensual decision-making process in the kgotla (public meeting) regulates the power of the chiefs. Examine the definitions, strengths, and weaknesses of several common governments: monarchy, theocracy . They dispense justice, resolve conflicts, and enforce contracts, even though such services are conducted in different ways in different authority systems. This is done through the enforcement agencies such as the police force. Most African countries are characterized by parallel institutions, one representing the formal laws of the state and the other representing the traditional institutions that are adhered to more commonly in rural areas. This section attempts to explain these seemingly contradictory implications of traditional institutions. A second argument is that traditional institutions are hindrances to the development of democratic governance (Mamdani, 1996; Ntsebeza, 2005). 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.