features of traditional african system of government

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. 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. The leaders, their families and allies are exempt. 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. Typically, such leaders scheme to rig elections or to change constitutional term limitsactions seen in recent years in such countries as Rwanda and Uganda. 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). In addition, resolution needs to be acceptable to all parties. In this paper, I look first at the emergence of the African state system historically, including colonial legacies and the Cold Wars impact on governance dynamics. Institutions represent an enduring collection of formal laws and informal rules, customs, codes of conduct, and organized practices that shape human behavior and interaction. The Pre-Colonial Period: From the Ashes of Pharaohs to the Berlin Conference At the end of the prehistoric period (10 000 BC), some African nomadic bands began to It also develops a theoretical framework for the . The structures of leadership of African traditional institutions are diverse and they have yet to be mapped out comprehensively. THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW, Fenrich, Galizzi, Higgins, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2011, 27 Pages During the colonial period, "tribe" was used to identify specific cultural and political groups in much the same way as "nation" is defined above. Gadaa as an Alternative Understanding of Democracy in Africa However, three countries, Botswana, Somaliland, and South Africa, have undertaken differing measures with varying levels of success. 134-141. This is done through the enforcement agencies such as the police force. The terms Afrocentrism, Afrocology, and Afrocentricity were coined in the 1980s by the African American scholar and activist Molefi Asante. 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. Traditional affairs | South African Government Unlike the laws of the state, traditional institutions rarely have the coercive powers to enforce their customary laws. 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. 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. Additionally, the transaction costs for services provided by the traditional institutions are much lower than the services provided by the state. While this seems obvious, it is less clear what vectors and drivers will have the most weight in shaping that outcome. Some live in remote areas beyond the reach of some of the institutions of the state, such as courts. 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. 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. The initial constitutions and legal systems were derived from the terminal colonial era. David and Joan Traitel Building & Rental Information, National Security, Technology & Law Working Group, Middle East and the Islamic World Working Group, Military History/Contemporary Conflict Working Group, Technology, Economics, and Governance Working Group, Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies, Understanding the Effects of Technology on Economics and Governance, Support the Mission of the Hoover Institution. PDF Structure of Government - EOLSS 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. Ten years later, in 2017, the number of conflicts was 18, taking place in 13 different countries. In traditional African communities, it was not possible to distinguish between religious and non-religious areas of life. The reasons why rural communities adhere to the traditional institutions are many (Logan, 2011; Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). Afrocentrism | Definition, Examples, History, Beliefs, & Facts In a few easy steps create an account and receive the most recent analysis from Hoover fellows tailored to your specific policy interests. Rather, they often rely on voluntary compliance, although they also apply some soft power to discourage noncompliance by members with customary laws. 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). Its ability to influence policy is limited in large part because of its institutional detachment from the state and because of its poverty and lack of capacity to participate in the political 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. Learn more about joining the community of supporters and scholars working together to advance Hoovers mission and values. The usual plethora of bour- South Africas strategy revolves around recognition of customary law when it does not conflict with the constitution and involves traditional authorities in local governance. 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). Institutional dichotomy also seems to be a characteristic of transitional societies, which are between modes of production. The term covers the expressed commands of If inclusion is the central ingredient, it will be necessary to explore in greater depth the resources leaders have available to pay for including various social groups and demographic cohorts. 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). 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). As noted, African countries have experienced the rise of the modern (capitalist) economic system along with its corresponding institutional systems. The guiding principle behind these two attributes is that conflict is a societal problem and that resolving conflict requires societal engagement. Chiefs with limited power: Another category of chiefs is those that are hereditary, like the paramount chiefs, but have limited powers. As noted, there are notable differences in the authority systems of African traditional institutions. The key lies in identifying the variables that will shape its context. 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. With respect to their relevance, traditional institutions remain indispensable for several reasons. The regime in this case captures the state, co-opts the security organs, and dissolves civil society. 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. Political leaders everywhere face competing demands in this regard. To illustrate, when there are 2.2 billion Africans, 50% of whom live in cities, how will those cities (and surrounding countryside) be governed? 7. The long-term, global pushback by the leading authoritarian powers against liberal governance norms has consequences in Africa and other regions as governments directly act to close the space for civil society to operate. Nonhereditary selected leaders with constitutional power: A good example of this is the Gada system of the Oromo in Ethiopia and Kenya. Enlightened leaders face a more complex version of the same challenge: how to find and mobilize the resources for broad-based inclusiveness? African traditional institutions continue to exist in most African countries, albeit at different levels of adherence by the populations of the continent. In Module Seven A: African History, you explored the histories of a wide diversity of pre-colonial African societies. Another layer represents the societal norms and customs that differ along various cultural traits. An analytical study and impact of colonialism on pre-colonial centralized and decentralized African Traditional and Political Systems. According to this analysis, Africas traditional institutional systems are likely to endure as long as the traditional subsistent economic systems continue to exist. Others contend that African countries need to follow a mixed institutional system incorporating the traditional and formal systems (Sklar, 2003). 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". 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. Some African nations are prosperous while others struggle. (PDF) INDIGENOUS AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS - Academia.edu This approach to governance was prominent in the Oyo empire. Africa: Government and Political Systems - Geography As a result, they are not dispensable as long as the traditional economic systems endure. In some countries, such as Botswana, customary courts are estimated to handle approximately 80% of criminal cases and 90% of civil cases (Sharma, 2004). They are less concerned with doctrines and much more so with rituals . 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at The same source concluded that 7 out of the 12 worst scores for political rights and civil liberties are African.11 As noted, the reasons vary: patrimonialism gone wrong (the big man problem), extreme state fragility and endemic conflict risks, the perverse mobilization of ethnicity by weak or threatened leaders. 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. In many cases European or Islamic legal traditions have replaced or significantly modified traditional African ones. The implementation of these systems often . The traditional justice system, thus, does not have the power to grant any rights beyond the local level. African political systems are described in a number of textbooks and general books on African history. Governments that rely on foreign counterparts and foreign investment in natural resources for a major portion of their budgetsrather than on domestic taxationare likely to have weaker connections to citizens and domestic social groups. African Solutions for African Problems - The Real Meaning 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 abolishment of chieftaincy does not eradicate the systems broader underlying features, such as customary law, decision-making systems, and conflict resolution practices. Yet, the traditional judicial system in most cases operates outside of the states institutional framework. Government and the Political System 2.1. 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). 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. PDF Traditional Systems of Communication in Nigeria This fragmentation is also unlikely to go away anytime soon on its own. The Obas and Caliphs of Nigeria and the Zulu of South Africa are other examples. 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. Africa's tumultuous political history has resulted in extreme disparities between the wealth and stability of its countries. Some trust traditional leaders more than they trust state authorities. 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. These partners, for their part, sometimes disengaged from close political ties and often brought new governance conditions into their assistance programs. 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). On the other hand, weak or destructive governance is sometimes the source of conflicts in the first place. In direct contrast is the second model: statist, performance-based legitimacy, measured typically in terms of economic growth and domestic stability as well as government-provided servicesthe legitimacy claimed by leaders in Uganda and Rwanda, among others. Keywords: Legal Pluralism, African Customary Law, Traditional Leadership, Chieftaincy, Formal Legal System Relationship With, Human Rights, Traditional Norms, Suggested Citation: Problems and Purpose. On the other hand, their endurance creates institutional fragmentation that has adverse impacts on Africas governance and socioeconomic transformation. 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. The rise of non-Western centers of power and the return of global polarization among major powers reduce the presence and weight of western influence. However, institutions are rarely static and they undergo changes induced by internal transformations of broader socioeconomic systems or by external influences or imposition, and in some cases by a combination of the two forces. 28, (1984) pp. 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. Traditional Governance Systems - Participedia In Sierra Leone, paramount chiefs are community leaders and their tasks involve - among others - protecting community safety and resolving disputes. 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. Precolonial Political Systems - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies Such a consensus-building mechanism can help resolve many of the conflicts related to diversity management and nation-building. Overturning regimes in Africas often fragile states could become easier to do, without necessarily leading to better governance. 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. Virtually every group was involved in the . 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. Issues of corruption and transparency are likely to become driving themes in African politics. . Additionally, inequalities between parallel socioeconomic spaces, especially with respect to influence on policy, hinder a democratic system, which requires equitable representation and inclusive participation. To complicate matters further, the role of traditional institutions is likely to be critical in addressing the problem of institutional fragmentation. Pre-colonial Administration of the Yorubas. Key Takeaways. Additionally, the Guurti is charged with resolving conflicts in the country using traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. Decision making is generally participatory and often consensus-based. Prominent among these Sudanic states was the Soninke Kingdom of Ancient Ghana. f Basic Features cont. 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. The role of chieftaincy within post-colonial African countries continues to incite lively debates, as the case of Ghana exemplifies. 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. This principle is particularly relevant for diversity management, nation-building, and democratization in contemporary Africa. Traditional Institutions of Governance in Africa The endurance of traditional institutions entails complex and paradoxical implications for contemporary Africas governance. Africa contains more sovereign nations than any other continent, with 54 countries compared to Asia's 47. Second, the levels of direct battle deaths from these events is relatively low when compared with far higher levels in the wars of the Middle East. The express prohibition in the African Charter against discrimination according to ethnic group constitutes a major step for the continent as a whole because the realization of this right will lead to greater economic opportunity for those people not of the same kinship as the head of government. Settling a case in an official court, for example, may involve long-distance travel for villagers and it may require lawyers, translators, a long wait, and court fees, while a traditional court rarely involves such costs and inconveniences. 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.

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