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. 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. Examine the definitions, strengths, and weaknesses of several common governments: monarchy, theocracy . Another common feature is the involvement of traditional authorities in the governance process, at least at the local level. Evidence from case studies, however, suggests that the size of adherents varies from country to country. . These consisted of monarchy, aristocracy and polity. The book contains eight separate papers produced by scholars working in the field of anthropology, each of which focuses in on a different society in Sub-Saharan Africa. The first objective of the article is to shed light on the socioeconomic foundations for the resilience of Africas traditional institutions. (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. Chief among them is that they remain key players in governing and providing various types of service in the traditional sector of the economy because of their compatibility with that economic system. However, at the lower level of the hierarchy of the centralized system, the difference between the centralized and decentralized systems tends to narrow notably. The traditional justice system, thus, does not have the power to grant any rights beyond the local level. In addition, resolution needs to be acceptable to all parties. With respect to their relevance, traditional institutions remain indispensable for several reasons. Poor gender relations: Traditional institutions share some common weaknesses. At times, devolution has had major fiscal and governance consequences, including serving as a vehicle for co-option and corruption. The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. Most African countries have yet to develop carefully considered strategies of how to reconcile their fragmented institutional systems. Hoover Education Success Initiative | The Papers. This layer of institutions is the subject of inquiry of this article. One layer represents the formal institutions (laws) of the state. 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. 28, (1984) pp. In this respect, they complement official courts that are often unable to provide court services to all their rural communities. 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). 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. 17-19 1.6. African states are by no means homogeneous in terms of governance standards: as the Mo Ibrahim index based on 14 governance categories reported in 2015, some 70 points on a scale of 100 separated the best and worst performers.16. 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). The key . The link between conflict and governance is a two-way street. As noted, there are notable differences in the authority systems of African traditional institutions. At the same time, traditional institutions represent institutional fragmentation, which has detrimental effects on Africas governance and economic transformation. To complicate matters further, the role of traditional institutions is likely to be critical in addressing the problem of institutional fragmentation. Communities in the traditional socioeconomic space are hardly represented in any of the organizations of the state, such as the parliament, where they can influence policy and the legal system to reflect their interests. The size and intensity of adherence to the traditional economic and institutional systems, however, vary from country to country. Interestingly, small and mid-size state leaders have won the award so far.) On the opposite side are the decentralized systems, led by a council of elders, that command little formal power. Some of these conflicts are, in reality, low-tech, sporadic skirmishes and armed attacks. Hindrance to democratization: Perhaps among the most important challenges institutional fragmentation poses is to the process of democratization. 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. In Igbo land for example the system of government was quite unique and transcends the democracy of America and Europe. One of these will be the role and weight of various powerful external actors. Obstruction of nation-building: Nation-building entails a process of integrating different segments of the citizenry to form a community of citizens under shared institutions. example of a traditional African political system. 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. South Africa has a mixed economy in which there is a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic . The initial constitutions and legal systems were derived from the terminal colonial era. Stagnant economy, absence of diversification in occupational patterns and allegiance to traditionall these have a bearing on the system of education prevailing in these societies. Often women are excluded from participation in decision making, especially in patrilineal social systems. f Basic Features cont. 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. However, the traditional judicial system has some weaknesses, especially with respect to gender equality. Building an inclusive political system also raises the question of what levels of the society to include and how to assure that local communities as well as groups operating at the national level can get their voices heard. The cases of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan suggest that each case must be assessed on its own merits. Under the circumstances, it becomes critical that traditional leaders are directly involved in local governance so that they protect the interests of their communities. Chiefs such as those of the Nuer and Dinka are examples of this category. Because these governmental institutions reject the indigenous political systems on which African society was built, they have generally failed to bring political . This kind of offences that attract capital punishment is usually . Poor leadership can result in acts of commission or omission that alienate or disenfranchise geographically distinct communities. Such a consensus-building mechanism can help resolve many of the conflicts related to diversity management and nation-building. Competing land rights laws, for instance, often lead to appropriations by the state of land customarily held by communities, triggering various land-related conflicts in much of Africa, especially in areas where population growth and environmental degradation have led to land scarcity. For example, the electoral college forces a republic type of voting system. References: Blakemore and Cooksey (1980). The quality and durability of such leader-defined adaptive resilience cannot be assured and can be reversed unless the associated norms become institutionalized. One of these is the potential influence exerted by the regions leading states, measured in terms of size, population, economic weight, and overall political clout and leadership prestige. The endurance of traditional institutions entails complex and paradoxical implications for contemporary Africas governance. 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 20 th century. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Prominent among these Sudanic states was the Soninke Kingdom of Ancient Ghana. Within this spectrum, some eight types of leadership structures can be identified. 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. One influential research group, SIPRI in Sweden, counted a total of 9 active armed conflicts in 2017 (in all of Africa) plus another 7 post-conflict and potential conflict situations.3, More revealing is the granular comparison of conflict types over time. The essay concludes with a sobering reflection on the challenge of achieving resilient governance. The result is transitory resilience of the regime, but shaky political stability, declining cohesion, and eventual conflict or violent change. Another measure is recognition of customary law and traditional judicial systems by the state. 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. By Sulayman Sanneh Date: September 10th, 2021. fIntroduction Africa is a vast and . Botswanas strategy has largely revolved around integrating parallel judicial systems. Council of elders: These systems essentially operate on consensual decision-making arrangements that vary from one place to another. The earliest known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt . 7. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. The third section looks at the critical role of political and economic inclusion in shaping peace and stability and points to some of the primary challenges leaders face in deciding how to manage inclusion: whom to include and how to pay for it. Another issue that needs some clarification is the neglect by the literature of the traditional institutions of the political systems without centralized authority structures. African traditional institutions continue to exist in most African countries, albeit at different levels of adherence by the populations of the continent. 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. The most promising pattern is adaptive resilience in which leaders facing such pressures create safety valves or outlets for managing social unrest. Only four states in AfricaBotswana, Gambia, Mauritius, and Senegalretained multiparty systems. The leader is accountable to various levels of elders, who serve as legislators and as judges (Legesse, 1973; Taa, 2017). African Traditional Political System and Institution: University of The Gambia, Faculty of humanities and social sciences. The key lies in identifying the variables that will shape its context. 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. MyHoover delivers a personalized experience atHoover.org. The guiding principle behind these two attributes is that conflict is a societal problem and that resolving conflict requires societal engagement. The movement towards a formal state system is characterized by its emphasis on retribution and punishment. Fitzpatrick 'Traditionalism and Traditional Law' Journal of African Law, Vol. 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. We know a good deal about what Africans want and demand from their governments from public opinion surveys by Afrobarometer. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. The first three parts deal with the principal objectives of the article. How these differences in leadership structures impinge on the broader institutions of resources allocation patterns, judicial systems, and decision-making and conflict resolution mechanisms is still understudied. Before then, traditional authorities essentially provided leadership for the various communities and kingdoms. Challenges confronting the institution of chieftaincy have continued from the colonial era into recent times. Government: A Multifarious Concept 1.2. 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. Perhaps one of the most serious shared weakness relates to gender relations. 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. 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). 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 the past decade, traditional security systems utilized in commercial or government facilities have consisted of a few basic elements: a well-trained personnel, a CCTV system, and some kind of access control system. 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. Our data indicate that traditional leaders, chiefs and elders clearly still play an important role in the lives Pre-colonial Administration of the Yorubas. Many other countries have non-centralized elder-based traditional institutions. (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. 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. In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. 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. Beyond such macro factors, several less obvious variables seem important to the political and economic governance future of the region. 1.4. A Long Journey: The Bantu Migrations. 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. Lawmaking: government makes laws to regulate the behavior of its citizens. The term covers the expressed commands of 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 structures of leadership of African traditional institutions are diverse and they have yet to be mapped out comprehensively. As a result, they are not dispensable as long as the traditional economic systems endure. Three layers of institutions characterize most African countries. One snapshot by the influential Mo Ibrahim index of African Governance noted in 2015 that overall governance progress in Africa is stalling, and decided not to award a leadership award that year. A third objective is to examine the relevance of traditional institutions. Ten years later, in 2017, the number of conflicts was 18, taking place in 13 different countries. This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in. Additionally, the Guurti is charged with resolving conflicts in the country using traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. Africas states are the worlds newest, and it can hardly be surprising that Africans define themselves in terms of multiple identities including regional, tribal, clan-based, and religious onesin addition to being citizens of a relatively new state. Although considerable differences exist among the various systems, opportunities for women to participate in decision making in most traditional systems are generally limited. On the one side, there are the centralized systems where leaders command near absolute power. This approach to governance was prominent in the Oyo empire. Changes in economic and political systems trigger the need for new institutional systems to manage the new economic and political systems, while endurance of economic and political systems foster durability of existing institutional systems. By 2016, 35 AU members had joined it, but less than half actually subjected themselves to being assessed. African states, along with Asian, Middle Eastern, and even European governments, have all been affected. Maintenance of law and order: the primary and most important function of the government is to maintain law and order in a state. The kings and chiefs of Angola and Asante, for example, allowed European merchants to send their representatives to their courts. This fragmentation is also unlikely to go away anytime soon on its own.

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