The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. A Long Journey: The Bantu Migrations. The optimistic replyand it is a powerful oneis that Africans will gradually build inclusive political and economic institutions.18 This, however, requires wise leadership. The origins of this institutional duality, the implications of which are discussed in Relevance and Paradox of Traditional Institutions, are largely traceable to the colonial state, as it introduced new economic and political systems and superimposed corresponding institutional systems upon the colonies without eradicating the existed traditional economic, political, and institutional systems. not because of, the unique features of US democracy . 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. At times, devolution has had major fiscal and governance consequences, including serving as a vehicle for co-option and corruption. There is one constitution and one set of laws and rules for ordinary people, and quite other for the ruling family and the politically connected elite. 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. It also develops a theoretical framework for the . In Botswana, for example, the consensual decision-making process in the kgotla (public meeting) regulates the power of the chiefs. Regardless, fragmentation of institutional systems poses a number of serious challenges to Africas governance and economic development. In a few easy steps create an account and receive the most recent analysis from Hoover fellows tailored to your specific policy interests. 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). In Module Seven A: African History, you explored the histories of a wide diversity of pre-colonial African societies. Unfortunately, transforming the traditional sector is not an easy undertaking and cannot be achieved in a reasonably short time. 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. However, the traditional judicial system has some weaknesses, especially with respect to gender equality. By the mid-1970s, the politics of Africa had turned authoritarian. Although considerable differences exist among the various systems, opportunities for women to participate in decision making in most traditional systems are generally limited. In Ghana, for example, local governance is an area where traditional leadership and the constitutional government sometimes lock horns. Traditional leaders often feel left out when the government takes decisions affecting their people and land without their consent or involvement. Non-official institutions and civil society may have very different ideas from the national government on this issue, leading to debates about legitimacy. Before delving into the inquiry, clarification of some issues would be helpful in avoiding confusion. Council of elders: These systems essentially operate on consensual decision-making arrangements that vary from one place to another. The result is transitory resilience of the regime, but shaky political stability, declining cohesion, and eventual conflict or violent change. Invented chiefs and state-paid elders: These were chiefs imposed by the colonial state on decentralized communities without centralized authority systems. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. However, the system of traditional government varied from place to place. 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. Paramount chiefs with rather weak system of accountability: The Buganda of Uganda and the Nupe in Nigeria are good examples. The article has three principal objectives and is organized into four parts. Most of the states that had attempted to abolish chieftaincy have retracted the abolitionist decrees and reinstated chiefs. The reasons why rural communities adhere to the traditional institutions are many (Logan, 2011; Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). Among the attributes of the traditional system with such potential is the systems transparent and participatory process of resolving conflicts, which takes place in open public meetings. Under the circumstances, it becomes critical that traditional leaders are directly involved in local governance so that they protect the interests of their communities. In some cases, community elders select future Sultanes at a young age and groom them for the position. 20-27, at p. 21; Carey N. Vicenti 'The re-emergence of tribal society and traditional justice systems' Judicature, Vol. Political leaders everywhere face competing demands in this regard. 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. The link between conflict and governance is a two-way street. As Mamdani has argued, understanding the role of traditional leadership and customary law in contemporary African societies requires us to understand its history. This outline leads us to examine more closely the sources of legitimacy in African governance systems. The earliest known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt . 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. Traditional and informal justice systems aim at restoring social cohesion within the community by promoting reconciliation between disputing parties. My intention in this chapter is to explore the traditional African ideas and values of politics with a view to pointing up what may be described as the democratic features of the indigenous system of government and to examine whether, and in what ways, such features can be said to be harmonious with the ethos of contemporary political culture and hence can be said to be relevant to . 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? African indigenous education was. One scholar specializing on the Horn of Africa likens the situation a political marketplace in which politics and violence are simply options along the spectrum pursued by powerful actors.5. Decision making is generally participatory and often consensus-based. Abstract. Such chiefs also have rather limited powers. 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. A second objective is to draw a tentative typology of the different authority systems of Africas traditional 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%. Many others choose the customary laws and conflict resolution mechanisms because they correspond better to their way of life. However, they do not have custodianship of land and they generally do not dispense justice on their own. On the one side, there are the centralized systems where leaders command near absolute power. In West Africa, a griot is a praise singer or poet who possesses a repository of oral tradition passed down from generation to generation. Traditional leadership in South Africa pre-existed both the colonial and apartheid systems of governance and was the main known system of governance amongst indigenous people. This approach to governance was prominent in the Oyo empire. 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). 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). Highlight 5 features of government. What policies and laws will determine relations between farmers and urban dwellers, between farmers and herders, between diverse identity groups living in close proximity or encroaching on each others farm land, and between public officials, criminal networks and ordinary citizens? 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 . 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 Obas and Caliphs of Nigeria and the Zulu of South Africa are other examples. The campaign by some (but not all) African states to pull out of the International Criminal Court is but one illustration of the trend. However, at the lower level of the hierarchy of the centralized system, the difference between the centralized and decentralized systems tends to narrow notably. However, their endurance, along with that of traditional economic systems, have fostered institutional fragmentation, which has serious adverse effects on Africas governance and economic development. 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. The geography of South Africa is vast scrubland in the interior, the Namib Desert in the northwest, and tropics in the southeast. Broadly speaking, indigenous systems of governance are those that were practiced by local populations in pre-colonial times. There were several reasons for such measures. . 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. In Igbo land for example the system of government was quite unique and transcends the democracy of America and Europe. 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. for in tradi-tional African communities, politics and religion were closely associated. This concept paper focuses on the traditional system of governance in Africa including their consensual decision-making models, as part of a broader effort to better define and advocate their role in achieving good governance. These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the government. Even old-fashioned tyrants learn that inclusion or co-option are expensive. 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. African states, along with Asian, Middle Eastern, and even European governments, have all been affected. 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. 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. . 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. A more recent example of adaptive resilience is being demonstrated by Ethiopias Abiy Ahmed. 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). A more recent argument is that traditional institutions are incompatible with economic, social, and civil rights (Chirayath, Sage, & Woolcock, 2005). Seeming preference for Democracy in Africa over other governance systems in Africa before and after independence 15-17 1.5. There is little doubt that colonial occupation and the ensuing restructuring of African political entities and socioeconomic systems altered African traditional institutions of governance. 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. In traditional African communities, it was not possible to distinguish between religious and non-religious areas of life. Impact of Historical Origins of African State System2. 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. The features associated with this new form of governmental administration deal with smaller government responsibility for providing goods and services. The cases of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan suggest that each case must be assessed on its own merits. All the characteristic features of a traditional society are, for obvious reasons, reflected in the education system. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. Three layers of institutions characterize most African countries. Basing key political decisions on broad societal and inter-party consensus may help to de-escalate cutthroat competition that often leads to violent conflicts. Rather, they often rely on voluntary compliance, although they also apply some soft power to discourage noncompliance by members with customary laws. In African-style democracy the rule of law is only applicable to ordinary people unconnected to the governing party leadership or leader. The implementation of these systems often . The evidence suggests that traditional institutions have continued to metamorphose under the postcolonial state, as Africas socioeconomic systems continue to evolve. In this view, nations fail because of extractive economic and political institutions that do not provide incentives for growth and stability. It may be useful to recall that historical kingships or dynasties were the common form of rule in Europe, India, China until modern times, and still is the predominant form of rule on the Arabian Peninsula.