Tribe Versus Ethnic Group. Africas economic systems range from a modestly advanced capitalist system, symbolized by modern banking and stock markets, to traditional economic systems, represented by subsistent peasant and pastoral systems. 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. The colonial system constitutes the second section. Discuss any similarities between the key features of the fourth 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). In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. 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. The development of inclusive institutions may involve struggles that enable political and societal actors to check the domination of entrenched rulers and to broaden rule-based participation in governance. Misguided policies at the national level combined with cultural constraints facing these social groups may increase exclusion and create seeds of future trouble. 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. State Systems in Pre-colonial, Colonial and Post-colonial - Jstor 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). The link was not copied. Key Takeaways. 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. 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. However, at the lower level of the hierarchy of the centralized system, the difference between the centralized and decentralized systems tends to narrow notably. FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT. 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. The debate is defined by "traditionalists" and "modernists." . In this context the chapter further touches on the compatibility of the institution of chieftaincy with constitutional principles such as equality, accountability, natural justice, good governance, and respect for fundamental human rights. Chiefs with limited power: Another category of chiefs is those that are hereditary, like the paramount chiefs, but have limited powers. There are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. Fitzpatrick 'Traditionalism and Traditional Law' Journal of African Law, Vol. 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. Careful analysis suggests that African traditional institutions lie in a continuum between the highly decentralized to the centralized systems and they all have resource allocation practices, conflict resolution, judicial systems, and decision-making practices, which are distinct from those of the state. This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in 0.093 seconds, Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely. They also serve as guardians and symbols of cultural values and practices. This theme, which is further developed below, is especially critical bearing in mind that Africa is the worlds most ethnically complex region, home to 20 of the worlds most diverse countries in terms of ethnic composition.8. Even old-fashioned tyrants learn that inclusion or co-option are expensive. Features Of Traditional Government Administration | Bartleby African countries are characterized by fragmentation of various aspects of their political economy, including their institutions of governance. To sum up, traditional institutions provide vital governance services to communities that operate under traditional socioeconomic spaces. The parallel institutional systems often complement each other in the continents contemporary governance. The place and role of African Youth in Pre-independence African Governance Systems 19-20 1.7. Uneven access to public services, such as educational, health, and communication services, and the disproportionately high poverty rates in the traditional sector are manifestations of the sectors marginalization. Many African countries, Ghana and Uganda, for example, have, like all other states, formal institutions of the state and informal institutions (societal norms, customs, and practices). Although considerable differences exist among the various systems, opportunities for women to participate in decision making in most traditional systems are generally limited. The terms Afrocentrism, Afrocology, and Afrocentricity were coined in the 1980s by the African American scholar and activist Molefi Asante. 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. Third, Africas conflict burden reflects different forms and sources of violence that sometimes become linked to each other: political movements may gain financing and coercive support from criminal networks and traffickers, while religious militants with connections to terrorist groups are often adept at making common cause with local grievance activists. However, they are not merely customs and norms; rather they are systems of governance, which were formal in precolonial times and continue to exist in a semiformal manner in some countries and in an informal manner in others.1. With the exceptions of a few works, such as Legesse (1973), the institutions of the 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. The scope of the article is limited to an attempt to explain how the endurance of African traditional institutions is related to the continents economic systems and to shed light on the implications of fragmented institutional systems. As a result, they are not dispensable as long as the traditional economic systems endure. The problems that face African governments are universal. Each of these societies had a system of government. The Political History of Africa: The Pre-Colonial Era - African These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the 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.) 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. Its lack of influence on policy also leads to its marginalization in accessing resources and public services, resulting in poverty, poor knowledge, and a poor information base, which, in turn, limits its ability to exert influence on policy. While this attribute of the traditional system may not be practical at the national level, it can be viable at local levels and help promote democratic values. 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. 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. 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). Another issue that needs some clarification is the neglect by the literature of the traditional institutions of the political systems without centralized authority structures. The chapter further examines the dabbling of traditional leaders in the political process in spite of the proscription of the institution from mainstream politics and, in this context, analyzes the policy rationale for attempting to detach chieftaincy from partisan politics. 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. Prominent among these Sudanic states was the Soninke Kingdom of Ancient Ghana. The analysis presented here suggests that traditional institutions are relevant in a number of areas while they are indispensable for the governance of Africas traditional economic sector, which lies on the fringes of formal state institutions. The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (Alkire, Chatterjee, Conconi, Seth, & Vaz, 2014) estimates that the share of rural poverty to total poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is about 73.8%. Tribes had relatively little power outside their own group during the colonial period. These include - murder, burglary, landcase, witchcraft, profaning the deities and homicide. Chester A. Crocker is the James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University. Africas rural communities, which largely operate under subsistent economic systems, overwhelmingly adhere to the traditional institutional systems while urban communities essentially follow the formal institutional systems, although there are people who negotiate the two institutional systems in their daily lives. Against this backdrop, where is African governance headed? Relatively unfettered access to the internet via smart phones and laptops brings informationand hence potential powerto individuals and groups about all kinds of things: e.g., market prices, the views of relatives in the diaspora, conditions in the country next door, and the self-enrichment of corrupt officials. At the same time, traditional institutions represent institutional fragmentation, which has detrimental effects on Africas governance and economic transformation. Oftentimes, however, they contradict each other, creating problems associated with institutional incoherence. 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 council system of the Berbers in Northern Africa also falls within this category (UNECA, 2007). 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. They are less concerned with doctrines and much more so with rituals . 134-141. The size and intensity of adherence to the traditional economic and institutional systems, however, vary from country to country. The Role and Significance of Traditional Leadership in South African List of African Union member states by political system 7 Main Features of a Traditional Society - Sociology Discussion 3. Regardless, fragmentation of institutional systems poses a number of serious challenges to Africas governance and economic development. Overturning regimes in Africas often fragile states could become easier to do, without necessarily leading to better governance. It is also challenging to map them out without specifying their time frame. A long-term route to political and economic success has been comprehensively documented by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in their global study of why nations fail or succeed. Greater access to public services and to productivity-enhancing technology would also help in enhancing the transformation of the subsistence sector. The link between conflict and governance is a two-way street. Traditional institutions have continued to metamorphose under the postcolonial state, as Africas socioeconomic systems continue to evolve. Traditional Institutions of Governance in Africa Traditional institutions already adjudicate undisclosed but large proportions of rural disputes. This is in part because the role of traditional leaders has changed over time. These consisted of monarchy, aristocracy and polity. Political and economic inclusion is the companion requirement for effective and legitimate governance. Recent developments add further complications to the region: (a) the collapse of Libya after 2011, spreading large quantities of arms and trained fighters across the broader Sahel region; (b) the gradual toll of desertification placing severe pressure on traditional herder/farmer relationships in places like Sudan and Nigeria; and, (c) the proliferation of local IS or Al Qaeda franchises in remote, under-governed spaces. In Igbo land for example the system of government was quite unique and transcends the democracy of America and Europe. Virtually every group was involved in the . The participatory and consensus-based system of conflict resolution can also govern inter-party politics and curtail the frequent post-election conflicts that erupt in many African countries. The first type is rights-based legitimacy deriving from rule of law, periodic elections, and alternation of political power, the kind generally supported by western and some African governments such as Ghana and Senegal. However, their participation in the electoral process has not enabled them to influence policy, protect their customary land rights, and secure access to public services that would help them overcome their deprivation. The roles assigned to them by the colonial state came to an end, and the new state imposed its own modifications of their roles. The settlement of conflicts and disputes in such consensus-based systems involves narrowing of differences through negotiations rather than through adversarial procedures that produce winners and losers. African Politics: A Very Short Introduction | Oxford Academic Pre-colonial Political System In Nigeria (Yoruba Traditional System) Their "rediscovery" in modern times has led to an important decolonization of local and community management in order to pursue genuine self-determination. 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. Differences and Similarities between Democracy and Authoritarian Despite the adoption of constitutional term limits in many African countries during the 1990s, such restrictions have been reversed or defied in at least 15 countries since 2000, according to a recent report.6, The conflict-governance link takes various forms, and it points to the centrality of the variable of leadership. The indigenous political system had some democratic features. 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? The optimistic replyand it is a powerful oneis that Africans will gradually build inclusive political and economic institutions.18 This, however, requires wise leadership. 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. Ndlela (2007: 34) confirms that traditional leaders continue to enjoy their role and recognition in the new dispensation, just like in other African states; and Good (2002: 3) argues that the system of traditional leadership in Botswana exists parallel to the democratic system of government and the challenge is of forging unity. Pre-colonial Administration of the Yorubas. They are already governing much of rural Africa. In light of this discussion of types of inclusion, the implications for dealing with state fragility and building greater resilience can now be spelled out. 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. Ethiopias monarchy ended in 1974 while the other three remain, with only the king of Swaziland enjoying absolute power. Similarities between Democratic and Authoritarian Government. African Style Democracy? - Public Seminar Another driver of governance trends will be the access enjoyed by youthful and rapidly urbanizing populations to the technologies that are changing the global communications space. Chieftaincy is further plagued with its own internal problems, including issues of relevance, succession, patriarchy, jurisdiction, corruption and intra-tribal conflict. 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. Precolonial Political Systems - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies They are well known, among others, for their advancement of an indigenous democratic process known as Gadaa. Some live in remote areas beyond the reach of some of the institutions of the state, such as courts. In the thankfully rare cases where national governance breaks down completelySouth Sudan, Somalia, CARits absence is an invitation to every ethnic or geographic community to fend for itselfa classic security dilemma. With the introduction of the Black Administration Act the African system of governance and administration was changed and the white government took control of the African population. 1. 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. According to the African Development Bank, good governance should be built on a foundation of (I) effective states, (ii) mobilized civil societies, and (iii) an efficient private sector. Admittedly, the problem is by no means uniquely African, but it is very commonly experienced in Africa. 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. Less than 20% of Africa's states achieved statehood following rebellion or armed insurgency; in the others, independence flowed from . Long-standing kingdoms such as those in Morocco and Swaziland are recognized national states. The abolishment of chieftaincy does not eradicate the systems broader underlying features, such as customary law, decision-making systems, and conflict resolution practices. 1.4. A key factor in the size of adherents of rural institutions, however, seems to depend on the ratio of the population in the traditional economic systems to the total population. 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).
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