The place and role of African Youth in Pre-independence African Governance Systems 19-20 1.7. An analytical study and impact of colonialism on pre-colonial centralized and decentralized African Traditional and Political Systems. The role of chieftaincy within post-colonial African countries continues to incite lively debates, as the case of Ghana exemplifies. Issues of corruption and transparency are likely to become driving themes in African politics. 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. Leaders may not be the only ones who support this definition of legitimacy. Your gift helps advance ideas that promote a free society. Wise leadership respects ethnic diversity and works toward inclusive policies. Analysis here is thus limited to traditional authority systems under the postcolonial experience. A third pattern flows from the authoritarian reflex where big men operate arbitrary political machines, often behind a thin democratic veneer. Traditional and informal justice systems aim at restoring social cohesion within the community by promoting reconciliation between disputing parties. These migrations resulted in part from the formation and disintegration of a series of large states in the western Sudan (the region north of modern Ghana drained by the Niger River). 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. History. 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. Traditional institutions have continued to metamorphose under the postcolonial state, as Africas socioeconomic systems continue to evolve. However, the traditional judicial system has some weaknesses, especially with respect to gender equality. Pre-colonial Administration of the Yorubas. On the other hand, their endurance creates institutional fragmentation that has adverse impacts on Africas governance and socioeconomic transformation. The Obas and Caliphs of Nigeria and the Zulu of South Africa are other examples. Space opened up for African citizens and civil society movements, while incumbent regimes were no longer able to rely on assured support from erstwhile external partners. However, at the lower level of the hierarchy of the centralized system, the difference between the centralized and decentralized systems tends to narrow notably. Some African leaders such as Ghanas Jerry Rawlings, Zambias Kenneth Kaunda, or Mozambiques Joachim Chissano accept and respect term limits and stand down. A Functional Approach to define Government 2. It should not be surprising that there is a weak social compact between state and society in many African states. 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". The population in the traditional system thus faces a vicious cycle of deprivation. In Sierra Leone, for example, approximately 85% of the population falls under the jurisdiction of customary law, defined under the constitution as the rules of law which, by custom, are applicable to particular communities in Sierra Leone. 28, (1984) pp. Certain offences were regarded as serious offences. The traditional Africa system of government is open and inclusive, where strangers, foreigners and even slaves could participate in the decision-making process. For example, the election day itself goes more or less peacefully, the vote tabulation process is opaque or obscure, and the entire process is shaped by a pre-election playing field skewed decisively in favor of the incumbents. 1. Of the latter, 10 achieved the top rating of free, a conclusion close to ratings by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).9 A more bullish reading drawn again from multiple sources is that over 60% of people in sub-Saharan Africa live in free or partly free countries, a situation that enabled a Brookings Institution study to conclude that the region [is] moving in fits and starts towards greater democratic consolidation.10 Countries absent from the apparent democratic wave missed its beginnings in the early and mid-1990s, became caught up in protracted or recurrent civil conflicts, or degenerated as a result of electoral violence or big men patrimonialism. 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). Government: A Multifarious Concept 1.2. 2. References: Blakemore and Cooksey (1980). Another layer represents the societal norms and customs that differ along various cultural traits. African states, along with Asian, Middle Eastern, and even European governments, have all been affected. African political elites are more determined than ever to shape their own destiny, and they are doing so. 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? A third objective is to examine the relevance of traditional institutions. There are several types of government systems in African politics: in an absolute monarchy, the head of state and head of government is a monarch with unlimited legal authority,; in a constitutional monarchy, the monarch is a ceremonial figurehead who has few political competences,; in a presidential system, the president is the head of state and head of government, 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. 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. This kind of offences that attract capital punishment is usually . (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. Since institutional fragmentation is a major obstacle to nation-building and democratization, it is imperative that African countries address it and forge institutional harmony. Under the circumstances, it becomes critical that traditional leaders are directly involved in local governance so that they protect the interests of their communities. The link was not copied. 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 traditional and informal justice systems, it is argued offers greater access to justice. 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. A third layer lies between the other two layers and is referred to in this article as traditional institutions. Poor statesociety relations and weak state legitimacy: Another critical outcome of institutional fragmentation and institutional detachment of the state from the overwhelming majority of the population is weak legitimacy of the state (Englebert, 2000). 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. In these relatively new nations, the critical task for leadership is to build a social contract that is sufficiently inclusive to permit the management of diversity. Such post-electoral pacts reflect the conclusion that stability is more important than democracy. 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 abolishment of chieftaincy does not eradicate the systems broader underlying features, such as customary law, decision-making systems, and conflict resolution practices. Broadly speaking, indigenous systems of governance are those that were practiced by local populations in pre-colonial times. THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW, Fenrich, Galizzi, Higgins, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2011, Available at SSRN: If you need immediate assistance, call 877-SSRNHelp (877 777 6435) in the United States, or +1 212 448 2500 outside of the United States, 8:30AM to 6:00PM U.S. Eastern, Monday - Friday. 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. Why traditional institutional systems endure, how large the adherents to them is, and why populations, especially in rural areas, continue to rely on traditional institutions, even when an alternative system is provided by the state, and what the implications of institutional dichotomy is are questions that have not yet received adequate attention in the literature. By the mid-1970s, the military held power in one-third of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. A second conflict pattern can develop along the lines of ethnic cleavages which can be readily politicized and then militarized into outright ethnic violence. THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW, Fenrich, Galizzi, Higgins, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2011, 27 Pages Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. When conflicts evolve along ethnic lines, they are readily labelled ethnic conflict as if caused by ancient hatreds; in reality, it is more often caused by bad governance and by political entrepreneurs. Freedom House calculated that 17 out of 50 countries it covered were free or partly free in 1988, compared to 31 out of 54 countries in these categories by 2015. Traditional institutions already adjudicate undisclosed but large proportions of rural disputes. Womens inequality in the traditional system is related, at least in part, to age- and gender-based divisions of labor characterizing traditional economic systems. In sum, the digitization of African politics raises real challenges for political leaders and has the potential to increase their determination to digitize their own tools of political control. Three layers of institutions characterize most African countries. In addition, according to Chirayath et al. On the one side, there are the centralized systems where leaders command near absolute power. 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. This fragmentation is also unlikely to go away anytime soon on its own. Only four states in AfricaBotswana, Gambia, Mauritius, and Senegalretained multiparty systems. 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. The kings and chiefs of Angola and Asante, for example, allowed European merchants to send their representatives to their courts. There are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. Customary law also manages land tenure and land allocation patterns. The government system is a republic; the chief of state and head of government is the president. 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. In traditional African communities, it was not possible to distinguish between religious and non-religious areas of life. African countries are characterized by fragmentation of various aspects of their political economy, including their institutions of governance. It also develops a theoretical framework for the . At times, these traditional security system elements are sufficient enough for some uses, but there's certainly no denying . This category of chiefs serves their communities in various and sometimes complex roles, which includes spiritual service. These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the government. 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. 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). Such a transformation would render traditional institutions dispensable. Tribe Versus Ethnic Group. In addition, resolution needs to be acceptable to all parties. Similarities between Democratic and Authoritarian Government. by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University. 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 . 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. Political and economic inclusion is the companion requirement for effective and legitimate governance. 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. 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 . A second argument is that traditional institutions are hindrances to the development of democratic governance (Mamdani, 1996; Ntsebeza, 2005). 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. Less than 20% of Africas states achieved statehood following rebellion or armed insurgency; in the others, independence flowed from peaceful transfers of authority from colonial officials to African political elites. The usual plethora of bour- African conflict trends point to a complex picture, made more so by the differing methodologies used by different research groups. Even so, customary law still exerts a strong . The Chinese understand the basics. The colonial system constitutes the second section. 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 government is undertaking a review of local government, which includes a commitment to introduce direct election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs). This outline leads us to examine more closely the sources of legitimacy in African governance systems. 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%. 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. 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. No doubt rural communities participate in elections, although they are hardly represented in national assemblies by people from their own socioeconomic space. This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in. Our data indicate that traditional leaders, chiefs and elders clearly still play an important role in the lives 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. Despite apparent differences, the strategies of the three countries have some common features as well that may inform other counties about the measures institutional reconciliation may entail. 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. 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. Others choose the traditional institutions, for example, in settling disputes because of lower transactional costs. Large countries such as the DRC, Ethiopia, and Mozambique are likely to experience pressures against centralized, authoritarian, or one-party governance (whether accompanied by real elections or not). The challenge facing Africas leadersperhaps above all othersis how to govern under conditions of ethnic diversity.

Rodney Pearson Louis Theroux, Potato Chip Distributors Near Me, Increase In Assets And Decrease In Liabilities Examples, Apex Friendship High School Teacher Dies, Articles F