features of traditional african system of government

At the same time, traditional institutions represent institutional fragmentation, which has detrimental effects on Africas governance and economic transformation. In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. Another common feature is the involvement of traditional authorities in the governance process, at least at the local level. Strictly speaking, Ghana was the title of the King, but the Arabs, who left records . Beyond such macro factors, several less obvious variables seem important to the political and economic governance future of the region. We know a good deal about what Africans want and demand from their governments from public opinion surveys by Afrobarometer. 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). Seeming preference for Democracy in Africa over other governance systems in Africa before and after independence 15-17 1.5. Many other countries have non-centralized elder-based traditional institutions. 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. Some trust traditional leaders more than they trust state authorities. 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. 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 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. 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at As a result, it becomes highly complex to analyze their roles and structures without specifying the time frame. The Chinese understand the basics. A more recent example of adaptive resilience is being demonstrated by Ethiopias Abiy Ahmed. Lawmaking: government makes laws to regulate the behavior of its citizens. More frequently, this form of rule operates at the sub-state level as in the case of the emir of Kano or the Sultan of Sokoto in Nigeria or the former royal establishments of the Baganda (Uganda) or the Ashanti (Ghana). Judicial marginalization: Another challenge posed by institutional fragmentation relates to marginalization of the traditional system within the formal legal system. The link between conflict and governance is a two-way street. Comparing Ethiopia and Kenya, for example, shows that adherents to the traditional institutional system is greater in Ethiopia than in Kenya, where the ratio of the population operating in the traditional economic system is smaller and the penetration of the capitalist economic system in rural areas is deeper. Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Politics. Rather, they often rely on voluntary compliance, although they also apply some soft power to discourage noncompliance by members with customary laws. This point links the reader to the other Africa chapters that have been prepared for this project. That is, each society had a set of rules, laws, and traditions, sometimes called customs, that established how the people would live together peacefully as part of larger group. 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. In addition, according to Chirayath et al. Cookie Settings. 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. 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. 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. This study notes that in 2007 Africa saw 12 conflicts in 10 countries. These circumstances can generate an authoritarian reflex and the temptation to circle the wagons against all sources of potential opposition. Since then, many more have been formulated, but the main themes and ideas have remained. Political and economic inclusion is the companion requirement for effective and legitimate governance. Ideally, African nations will benefit when civil society respects the states role (as well as the other way around); rather than one-sided advocacy, both sides should strive to create a space for debate in order to legitimize tolerance of multiple views in society. Virtually every group was involved in the . Ehret 2002 emphasizes the diversity and long history of precolonial social and political formations, whereas Curtin, et al. This can happen in several ways. 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. The features associated with this new form of governmental administration deal with smaller government responsibility for providing goods and services. Chiefs with limited power: Another category of chiefs is those that are hereditary, like the paramount chiefs, but have limited powers. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. One of these will be the role and weight of various powerful external actors. The jury is still out on the merits of this practice. 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. Its marginalization, in turn, impedes the transformation of the traditional sector, thus extending the fragmentation of institutions. Note that Maine and . The Aqils (elders) of Somalia and the chiefs in Kenya are good examples. All the characteristic features of a traditional society are, for obvious reasons, reflected in the education system. This provides wide opportunity for governments to experiment, to chart a course independent of Western preferences, but it can also encourage them to move toward authoritarian, state capitalist policies when that is the necessary or the expedient thing to do. 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. This study points to a marked increase in state-based conflicts, owing in significant part to the inter-mixture of Islamic State factions into pre-existing conflicts. In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. The traditional Africa system of government is open and inclusive, where strangers, foreigners and even slaves could participate in the decision-making process. 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. As Legesse (1973, 2000) notes, the fundamental principles that guide the consensus-based (decentralized) authority systems include curbing the concentration of power in an institution or a person and averting the emergence of a rigid hierarchy. 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. Should inclusion be an ongoing process or a single event? Most of the regions states were defined geographically by European cartographers at the start of the colonial period. 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. 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. 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 problems that face African governments are universal. 28, (1984) pp. The differences are in terms of how leaders come to assume their positions, how much power they command, and how accountable they are to their communities. These include - murder, burglary, landcase, witchcraft, profaning the deities and homicide. 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. Long-standing kingdoms such as those in Morocco and Swaziland are recognized national states. As Mamdani has argued, understanding the role of traditional leadership and customary law in contemporary African societies requires us to understand its history. Each of these societies had a system of government. Legitimate authority, in turn, is based on accepted laws and norms rather than the arbitrary, unconstrained power of the rulers. This outline leads us to examine more closely the sources of legitimacy in African governance systems. Both can be identified as forms of governance. Ethiopias monarchy ended in 1974 while the other three remain, with only the king of Swaziland enjoying absolute power. Communities like the Abagusii, Ameru, Akamba, Mijikenda, and Agikuyu in Kenya had this system of government. 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. Even old-fashioned tyrants learn that inclusion or co-option are expensive. African indigenous education was. 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 . Given its institutional disconnect with the state, the traditional sector and the communities that operate under it invariably face marginalization in influencing policy as well as in access to economic resources throughout the continent. Wise leadership respects ethnic diversity and works toward inclusive policies. Tribes had relatively little power outside their own group during the colonial period. by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University. The debate is defined by "traditionalists" and "modernists." . Both types of government can be effective or infective depending on . Prominent among these Sudanic states was the Soninke Kingdom of Ancient Ghana. However, there are customs and various arrangements that restrain their power. Consequently, national and regional governance factors interact continuously. 7. It assigned them new roles while stripping away some of their traditional roles. Other governance systems in the post-independence era and their unique features, if any. In addition to these measures, reconciling fragmented institutions would be more successful when governments invest more resources in transforming the traditional socioeconomic space. At times, these traditional security system elements are sufficient enough for some uses, but there's certainly no denying . 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. "Law" in traditional Igbo and other African societies assumes a wide dimension and should be understood, interpreted, and applied as such, even if such a definition conflicts with the Western idea. Although considerable differences exist among the various systems, opportunities for women to participate in decision making in most traditional systems are generally limited. The post-colonial State, on the other hand . On the other hand, their endurance creates institutional fragmentation that has adverse impacts on Africas governance and socioeconomic transformation. 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? They also serve as guardians and symbols of cultural values and practices. 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. 79 (3), (1995) pp. All life was religious . This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in 0.093 seconds, Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely. 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. Their "rediscovery" in modern times has led to an important decolonization of local and community management in order to pursue genuine self-determination. He served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 1981 to 1989. To learn more, visit South Africa has a mixed economy in which there is a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic . With the dawn of colonialism in Africa, the traditional African government was sys-tematically weakened, and the strong and influential bond between traditional lead- . In Sierra Leone, paramount chiefs are community leaders and their tasks involve - among others - protecting community safety and resolving disputes. 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). The essay concludes with a sobering reflection on the challenge of achieving resilient governance. Another layer represents the societal norms and customs that differ along various cultural traits. They include: Monarchs (absolute or constitutional): While the colonial state reduced most African kings to chiefs, a few survived as monarchs. The first objective of the article is to shed light on the socioeconomic foundations for the resilience of Africas traditional institutions. 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. Authority in this system was shared or distributed to more people within the community. Thus, another report by PRIO and the University of Uppsala (two Norwegian and Swedish centers) breaks conflict down into state-based (where at least one party is a government), non-state-based (neither party is an official state actor), and one-sided conflicts (an armed faction against unarmed civilians). Note: The term rural population is used as a proxy for the population operating under traditional economic systems. 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. "Law" in traditional Africa includes enforceable traditions, customs, and laws. Rather, they are conveners of assemblies of elders or lower level chiefs who deliberate on settlement of disputes. Womens access to property rights is also limited, as they are often denied the right of access to inheritance as well as equal division of property in cases of divorce. In this view, nations fail because of extractive economic and political institutions that do not provide incentives for growth and stability. Legitimate authority, in turn, is based on accepted laws and norms rather than the arbitrary, unconstrained power of the rulers. Such a consensus-building mechanism can help resolve many of the conflicts related to diversity management and nation-building. Additionally, the transaction costs for services provided by the traditional institutions are much lower than the services provided by the state. As a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) study (2007) notes, traditional leaders often operate as custodians of customary law and communal assets, especially land. (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. 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 Governance: Challenges and Their Implications. Non-official institutions and civil society may have very different ideas from the national government on this issue, leading to debates about legitimacy. The institution of traditional leadership in Africa pre-existed both the colonial and apartheid systems and was the only known system of governance among indigenous people. Our data indicate that traditional leaders, chiefs and elders clearly still play an important role in the lives Introduction. 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. However, three countries, Botswana, Somaliland, and South Africa, have undertaken differing measures with varying levels of success. Sometimes, another precedent flows from thesenamely, pressure from outside the country but with some support internally as well for creating a transitional government of national unity. However, almost invariably the same functions, whether or not formally defined and characterized in the same terms or exercised in the same manner, are also performed by traditional institutions and their leaders. A second objective is to draw a tentative typology of the different authority systems of Africas traditional institutions. However, the winner takes all system in the individual states is a democracy type of voting system, as the minority gets none of the electoral college votes. The nature of governance is central because it determines whether the exercise of authority is viewed as legitimate. The size and intensity of adherence to the traditional economic and institutional systems, however, vary from country to country. The same factors that hinder nation-building hinder democratization. In addition, resolution needs to be acceptable to all parties. Additionally, inequalities between parallel socioeconomic spaces, especially with respect to influence on policy, hinder a democratic system, which requires equitable representation and inclusive participation. 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? Key Takeaways. They are already governing much of rural Africa. 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). In this regard, the president is both the head of state and government, and there are three arms and tiers of rules by which the country is ruled. 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. 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. It may be good to note, as a preliminary, that African political systems of the past dis played considerable variety. Highlight 5 features of government. The term covers the expressed commands of The council system of the Berbers in Northern Africa also falls within this category (UNECA, 2007). 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. Enlightened leaders face a more complex version of the same challenge: how to find and mobilize the resources for broad-based inclusiveness? The quality and durability of such leader-defined adaptive resilience cannot be assured and can be reversed unless the associated norms become institutionalized. Indications are, however, that the more centralized the system is, the lower the accountability and popular participation in decision making. The cases of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan suggest that each case must be assessed on its own merits. By the mid-1970s, the military held power in one-third of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. A more recent argument is that traditional institutions are incompatible with economic, social, and civil rights (Chirayath, Sage, & Woolcock, 2005). Others contend that African countries need to follow a mixed institutional system incorporating the traditional and formal systems (Sklar, 2003). for in tradi-tional African communities, politics and religion were closely associated. In this respect, they complement official courts that are often unable to provide court services to all their rural communities. 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. Some regimes seem resilient because of their apparent staying power but actually have a narrow base of (typically ethnic or regional) support. Leaders may not be the only ones who support this definition of legitimacy. One can identify five bases of regime legitimacy in the African context today. The purpose is to stress that such efforts and the attendant will 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. Towards a Definition of Government 1.3. Indigenous education is a process of passing the inherited knowledge, skills, cultural traditions norms and values of the tribe, among the tribal member from one generation to another Mushi (2009). While empirical data are rather scanty, indications are that the traditional judicial system serves the overwhelming majority of rural communities (Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). On the opposite side are the decentralized systems, led by a council of elders, that command little formal power. It seems clear that Africas conflict burden declined steadily after the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s owing to successful peace processes outstripping the outbreak of new conflicts; but the burden has been spiking up again since then. According to this analysis, Africas traditional institutional systems are likely to endure as long as the traditional subsistent economic systems continue to exist. The leaders in this system have significant powers, as they often are custodians of their communitys land and they dispense justice in their courts. However, the system of traditional government varied from place to place. In a few easy steps create an account and receive the most recent analysis from Hoover fellows tailored to your specific policy interests. Similarly, the process of conflict resolution is undertaken in an open assembly and is intended to reconcile parties in conflict rather than to merely punish offenders. 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 . Africas geopolitical environment is shaped by Africans to a considerable degree. Botswanas strategy has largely revolved around integrating parallel judicial systems. This fragmentation is also unlikely to go away anytime soon on its own. Freedom Houses ratings see a pattern of decline since 2005 and note that 10 out of 25 countries (worldwide) with declining ratings are in Africa. African Political Systems is an academic anthology edited by the anthropologists Meyer Fortes and E. E. Evans-Pritchard which was published by Oxford University Press on the behalf of the International African Institute in 1940. Integration of traditional and modern governance systems in Africa. Some live in remote areas beyond the reach of some of the institutions of the state, such as courts. In any case, as . As noted, African countries have experienced the rise of the modern (capitalist) economic system along with its corresponding institutional systems. Rule that is based on predation and political monopoly is unlikely to enjoy genuine popular legitimacy, but it can linger for decades unless there are effective countervailing institutions and power centers. 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. Democratic and dictatorial regimes both vest their authority in one person or a few individuals. Fitzpatrick 'Traditionalism and Traditional Law' Journal of African Law, Vol. A Sociology of Education for Africa . The colonial state, for example, invented chiefs where there were no centralized authority systems and imposed them on the decentralized traditional systems, as among the Ibo of Eastern Nigeria, the Tonga in Zambia, various communities in Kenya, and the communities in Somalia. The role of traditional leaders in modern Africa, especially in modern African democracies, is complex and multifaceted. For Acemoglu and Robinson, such turning points occur in specific, unique historical circumstances that arise in a societys development. Based on existing evidence, the authority systems in postcolonial Africa lie in a continuum between two polar points. If African political elite opinion converges with that of major external voices in favoring stabilization over liberal peacebuilding agendas, the implications for governance are fairly clear.17. Government acknowledges the critical role of traditional leadership institutions in South Africa's constitutional democracy and in communities, particularly in relation to the Rural . Contents 1. The usual plethora of bour- There are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. Before delving into the inquiry, clarification of some issues would be helpful in avoiding confusion. In the postcolonial era, their roles changed again. Societal conflicts: Institutional dichotomy often entails incompatibility between the systems.

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