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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 abolishment of chieftaincy does not eradicate the systems broader underlying features, such as customary law, decision-making systems, and conflict resolution practices. To illustrate, when there are 2.2 billion Africans, 50% of whom live in cities, how will those cities (and surrounding countryside) be governed? In many cases European or Islamic legal traditions have replaced or significantly modified traditional African ones. Even the court system is designed to provide for consociational, provincial, and local organization, not as separate courts but as divisions of the key national courts; once again, a compromise between a fully federal or consociational arrangement and the realities of the South African situation that emphasize the preservation of national unity . 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). Before delving into the inquiry, clarification of some issues would be helpful in avoiding confusion. If a critical mass of the leaderse.g., South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cote dIvoire, Algeria, Egyptare heading in a positive direction, they will pull some others along in their wake; of course, the reverse is also true. If inclusion is the central ingredient, it will be necessary to explore in greater depth the resources leaders have available to pay for including various social groups and demographic cohorts. The key lies in identifying the variables that will shape its context. Rather, they often rely on voluntary compliance, although they also apply some soft power to discourage noncompliance by members with customary laws. These consisted of monarchy, aristocracy and polity. The government system is a republic; the chief of state and head of government is the president. The same source concluded that 7 out of the 12 worst scores for political rights and civil liberties are African.11 As noted, the reasons vary: patrimonialism gone wrong (the big man problem), extreme state fragility and endemic conflict risks, the perverse mobilization of ethnicity by weak or threatened leaders. 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. The initial constitutions and legal systems were derived from the terminal colonial era. Many others choose the customary laws and conflict resolution mechanisms because they correspond better to their way of life. While traditional institutions remain indispensable for the communities operating under traditional economic systems, they also represent institutional fragmentation, although the underlying factor for fragmentation is the prevailing dichotomy of economic systems. At times, devolution has had major fiscal and governance consequences, including serving as a vehicle for co-option and corruption. They are already governing much of rural Africa. Communities like the Abagusii, Ameru, Akamba, Mijikenda, and Agikuyu in Kenya had this system of government. Cold War geopolitics reinforced in some ways the state-society gap as the global rivalry tended to favor African incumbents and frequently assured they would receive significant assistance from external powers seeking to build diplomatic ties with the new states. 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 guiding principle behind these two attributes is that conflict is a societal problem and that resolving conflict requires societal engagement. Democratic and dictatorial regimes both vest their authority in one person or a few individuals. (No award was made in 50% of the years since the program was launched in 2007; former Liberian president Ellen John Sirleaf won the award in 2017. There are also various arguments in the literature against traditional institutions.2 One argument is that chieftaincy impedes the pace of development as it reduces the relevance of the state in the area of social services (Tom Mboya in Osaghae, 1989). In some societies, traditional, tribal authorities may offer informed and genuinely accepted governance, provided that they are not merely government appointees pursuing decentralized self-enrichment. On the opposite side are the decentralized systems, led by a council of elders, that command little formal power. Chester A. Crocker is the James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University. 28, (1984) pp. These communities select the Aba Gada, who serves a nonrenewable term of 8 years as leader. The Constitution states that the institution, status and roles of traditional leadership, according to customary law, are recognised. Safeguarding womens rights thus becomes hard without transforming the economic system under which they operate. These circumstances can generate an authoritarian reflex and the temptation to circle the wagons against all sources of potential opposition. The movement towards a formal state system is characterized by its emphasis on retribution and punishment. 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. This adds to the challenge of building national identities; this identity vacuum increases the risk that political elites and social groups will capture the state for narrower, self-interested purposes that weaken, rather than strengthen, social cohesion. This section attempts to explain these seemingly contradictory implications of traditional institutions. In addition, they have traditional institutions of governance of various national entities, including those surrounding the Asantehene of the Ashanti in Ghana and the Kabaka of the Buganda in Uganda. Such post-electoral pacts reflect the conclusion that stability is more important than democracy. Customary law, for example, does not protect communities from violations of their customary land rights through land-taking by the state. Learn more about joining the community of supporters and scholars working together to advance Hoovers mission and values. Authority in this system was shared or distributed to more people within the community. This is in part because the role of traditional leaders has changed over time. "Law" in traditional Africa includes enforceable traditions, customs, and laws. This brief overview of conflict in Africa signals the severity of the security challenges to African governance, especially in those sub-regions that feature persistent and recurrent outbreaks of violence. The balance of power between official and non-official actors will likely shift, as networked activists assert their ability to organize and take to the streets on behalf of diverse causes. 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. A more recent argument is that traditional institutions are incompatible with economic, social, and civil rights (Chirayath, Sage, & Woolcock, 2005). The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. However, they do not have custodianship of land and they generally do not dispense justice on their own. They also serve as guardians and symbols of cultural values and practices. Another layer represents the societal norms and customs that differ along various cultural traits. These different economic systems have corresponding institutional systems with divergent property rights laws and resource allocation mechanisms, disparate decision-making systems, and distinct judicial systems and conflict resolution mechanisms. 1. In the centralized systems also, traditional leaders of various titles were reduced to chiefs and the colonial state modified notably the relations between the chiefs and their communities by making the chiefs accountable to the colonial state rather than to their communities (Coplan & Quinlan, 1997). A Sociology of Education for Africa . The essay concludes with a sobering reflection on the challenge of achieving resilient governance. 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 Challenges confronting the institution of chieftaincy have continued from the colonial era into recent times. However, the traditional judicial system has some weaknesses, especially with respect to gender equality. For these and other reasons, the state-society gap lies at the heart of the problems faced by many states. In Sierra Leone, paramount chiefs are community leaders and their tasks involve - among others - protecting community safety and resolving disputes. In some cases, community elders select future Sultanes at a young age and groom them for the position. 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. A Functional Approach to define Government 2. Examine the definitions, strengths, and weaknesses of several common governments: monarchy, theocracy . In some countries, such as Botswana, customary courts are estimated to handle approximately 80% of criminal cases and 90% of civil cases (Sharma, 2004). 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. This kind of offences that attract capital punishment is usually . A second objective is to draw a tentative typology of the different authority systems of Africas traditional institutions. Institutions represent an enduring collection of formal laws and informal rules, customs, codes of conduct, and organized practices that shape human behavior and interaction. Non-official institutions and civil society may have very different ideas from the national government on this issue, leading to debates about legitimacy. In new countries such as most of those in Africa,7 where the rule of law is in competition with the rule of men, leaders play a strikingly critical role, for good or ill. It is unlikely, however, that such harmony can be brought about by measures that aim to abolish the traditional system, as was attempted by some countries in the aftermath of decolonization. In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. This outline leads us to examine more closely the sources of legitimacy in African governance systems. The problems that face African governments are universal. This process becomes difficult when citizens are divided into parallel socioeconomic spaces with different judicial systems, property rights laws, and resource allocation mechanisms, which often may conflict with each other. 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. As a result, it becomes highly complex to analyze their roles and structures without specifying the time frame. 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? Government: A Multifarious Concept 1.2. According to this analysis, Africas traditional institutional systems are likely to endure as long as the traditional subsistent economic systems continue to exist. 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. Subsequent to the colonial experience, traditional institutions may be considered to be informal institutions in the sense that they are often not sanctioned by the state. It then analyzes the implications of the dual allegiance of the citizenry to chiefs and the government. Indeed, it should be added that a high percentage of todays conflicts are recurrences of previous ones, often in slightly modified form with parties that may organize under more than one flag. Institutional systems emanate from the broader economic and political systems, although they also affect the performance of the economic and political systems. 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". 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. It also develops a theoretical framework for the . Overturning regimes in Africas often fragile states could become easier to do, without necessarily leading to better governance. 20 A brief account of that history will help to highlight key continuities spanning the colonial, apartheid and the post-apartheid eras in relation to the place of customary law and the role of traditional leaders. 2. The pre-colonial system in Yoruba can be described to be democratic because of the inclusion of the principle of checks and balances that had been introduced in the system of administration. The relationship between traditional leadership and inherited western-style governance institutions often generates tensions. Paramount chiefs with rather weak system of accountability: The Buganda of Uganda and the Nupe in Nigeria are good examples. The swing against western norms was captured in an interview with Ugandas repeatedly re-elected president Yoweri Museveni who remarked How can you have structural adjustment without electricity? 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. 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). 1.4. The question then becomes, how to be inclusive?19 A number of African states have decentralized their political decision-making systems and moved to share or delegate authority from the center to provincial or local levels. Perhaps one of the most serious shared weakness relates to gender relations. It is too soon to tell whether such institutions can evolve in modern Africa as a result of gradual tinkering with reformist agendas, as the legacy of wise leaders; or whether they will only happen as a result of fundamental tests of strength between social and political groups. A third objective is to examine the relevance of traditional institutions. 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. Cookie Settings. A second attribute is the participatory decision-making system. Poor gender relations: Traditional institutions share some common weaknesses. 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. The colonial state modified their precolonial roles. 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 . The same factors that hinder nation-building hinder democratization. Stated another way, if the abolition of term limits, neo-patrimonialism, and official kleptocracy become a regionally accepted norm, this will make it harder for the better governed states to resist the authoritarian trend. You cant impose middle class values on a pre-industrial society.13. 20-27, at p. 21; Carey N. Vicenti 'The re-emergence of tribal society and traditional justice systems' Judicature, Vol. They include: Monarchs (absolute or constitutional): While the colonial state reduced most African kings to chiefs, a few survived as monarchs. It assigned them new roles while stripping away some of their traditional roles. In other words, the transition from traditional modes of production to a capitalist economic system has advanced more in some countries than in others. Another issue that needs some clarification is the neglect by the literature of the traditional institutions of the political systems without centralized authority structures. Most African countries have yet to develop carefully considered strategies of how to reconcile their fragmented institutional systems. The post-colonial State, on the other hand . The introduction of alien economic and political systems by the colonial state relegated Africas precolonial formal institutions to the sphere of informality, although they continued to operate in modified forms, in part due to the indirect rule system of colonialism and other forms of reliance by colonial states on African institutions of governance to govern their colonies. By Sulayman Sanneh Date: September 10th, 2021. fIntroduction Africa is a vast and . The selection, however, is often from the children of a chief. It should not be surprising that there is a weak social compact between state and society in many African states. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. In addition to these measures, reconciling fragmented institutions would be more successful when governments invest more resources in transforming the traditional socioeconomic space. The laws and legal systems of Africa have developed from three distinct legal traditions: traditional or customary African law, Islamic law, and the legal systems of Western Europe. Features Of Traditional Government Administration. The nature of governance is central because it determines whether the exercise of authority is viewed as legitimate. States would be more effective in reforming the traditional judicial system if they recognized them rather than neglecting them, as often is the case. Both can be identified as forms of governance. 3. 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. These events point to extreme state fragility and a loss of sovereign control over violence in the 11 affected countries, led by Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic (CAR). The Sultanes of Somalia are examples of this category and the community has specific criteria as to who is qualified to be a chief (Ahmed, 2017). It is also highly unlikely that such broader aspects of traditional institutions can be eliminated without transforming the traditional modes of production that foster them.