features of traditional african system of government

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. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). 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. This proposal will be subject to a referendum on the constitutional changes required.16.2e 2.4 Traditional leadership Traditional leaders are accorded African traditional institutions continue to exist in most African countries, albeit at different levels of adherence by the populations of the continent. Types of Government in Africa - Synonym Poor gender relations: Traditional institutions share some common weaknesses. 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 . Good and inclusive governance is imperative for Africa's future Land privatization is, thus, unworkable in pastoral communities, as communal land ownership would be unworkable in a capitalist economy. This section attempts to explain these seemingly contradictory implications of traditional institutions. Why can't democracy with African characteristics maintain the values, culture and traditional system of handling indiscipline, injustice and information management in society to take firm roots. Another measure is recognition of customary law and traditional judicial systems by the state. African governance trends were transformed by the geopolitical changes that came with the end of the Cold War. Following decolonization, several African countries attempted to abolish aspects of the traditional institutional systems. The abolishment of chieftaincy does not eradicate the systems broader underlying features, such as customary law, decision-making systems, and conflict resolution practices. 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. In addition to these measures, reconciling fragmented institutions would be more successful when governments invest more resources in transforming the traditional socioeconomic space. Relevance of African traditional institutions of governance | Eldis The traditional and informal justice systems, it is argued offers greater access to justice. 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. 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). 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). PDF African Traditional Justice Systems Francis Kariuki* 1.1 Introduction Such a transformation would render traditional institutions dispensable. Editorial Citizenship and Accountability: Customary Law and Traditional A more recent argument is that traditional institutions are incompatible with economic, social, and civil rights (Chirayath, Sage, & Woolcock, 2005). Table 1 shows the proportion of the population that operates under traditional economic systems in selected African countries. Suggested Citation, 33 West 60th StreetNew York, NY 10023United States, Public International Law: Sources eJournal, Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic, Political Institutions: Parties, Interest Groups & Other Political Organizations eJournal, Political Institutions: Legislatures eJournal, We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. 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. Indications are, however, that the more centralized the system is, the lower the accountability and popular participation in decision making. 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. Lawmaking: government makes laws to regulate the behavior of its citizens. Customary law, for example, does not protect communities from violations of their customary land rights through land-taking by the state. Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in African society . One layer represents the formal institutions (laws) of the state. Others contend that African countries need to follow a mixed institutional system incorporating the traditional and formal systems (Sklar, 2003). 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. 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. The Chinese understand the basics. Ethiopias monarchy ended in 1974 while the other three remain, with only the king of Swaziland enjoying absolute power. Institutional systems emanate from the broader economic and political systems, although they also affect the performance of the economic and political systems. 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 Many of the chieftaincy systems, such as those in much of South Africa, the Asantehene of the Ashanti of Ghana, the Tswana of Botswana, and the Busoga of Uganda seem to fall within this category. Stated another way, if the abolition of term limits, neo-patrimonialism, and official kleptocracy become a regionally accepted norm, this will make it harder for the better governed states to resist the authoritarian trend. The US system has survived four years of a norm-busting president by the skin of its teeth - which areas need most urgent attention? Unfortunately, transforming the traditional sector is not an easy undertaking and cannot be achieved in a reasonably short time. 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at (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. 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. Note: The term rural population is used as a proxy for the population operating under traditional economic systems. Institutional dichotomy also seems to be a characteristic of transitional societies, which are between modes of production. According to the African Development Bank, good governance should be built on a foundation of (I) effective states, (ii) mobilized civil societies, and (iii) an efficient private sector. Customary law also manages land tenure and land allocation patterns. PDF The role and importance of the institution of traditional leadership in 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. The size and intensity of adherence to the traditional economic and institutional systems, however, vary from country to country. Within this spectrum, some eight types of leadership structures can be identified. 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. This discussion leads to an analysis of African conflict trends to help identify the most conflict-burdened sub-regions and to highlight the intimate link between governance and conflict patterns. To learn more, visit These communities select the Aba Gada, who serves a nonrenewable term of 8 years as leader. Based on existing evidence, the authority systems in postcolonial Africa lie in a continuum between two polar points. The participatory and consensus-based system of conflict resolution can also govern inter-party politics and curtail the frequent post-election conflicts that erupt in many African countries. The Alafin as the political head of the empire was . The government system is a republic; the chief of state and head of government is the president. Each of these societies had a system of government. 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. Another issue that needs some clarification is the neglect by the literature of the traditional institutions of the political systems without centralized authority structures. Institutions represent an enduring collection of formal laws and informal rules, customs, codes of conduct, and organized practices that shape human behavior and interaction. This brief essay began by identifying the state-society gap as the central challenge for African governance. The first three parts deal with the principal objectives of the article. The imperative for inclusion raises many questions: should the priority be to achieve inclusion of diverse elites, of ethnic and confessional constituencies, of a sample of grass roots opinion leaders? Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. This is in part because the role of traditional leaders has changed over time. These circumstances can generate an authoritarian reflex and the temptation to circle the wagons against all sources of potential opposition. 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). History. Additionally, the transaction costs for services provided by the traditional institutions are much lower than the services provided by 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. This adds to the challenge of building national identities; this identity vacuum increases the risk that political elites and social groups will capture the state for narrower, self-interested purposes that weaken, rather than strengthen, social cohesion. Another basic question is, whom to include? A related reason for their relevance is that traditional institutions, unlike the state, provide rural communities the platform to participate directly in their own governance. 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. West Africa has a long and complex history. Issues of corruption and transparency are likely to become driving themes in African politics. Government acknowledges the critical role of traditional leadership institutions in South Africa's constitutional democracy and in communities, particularly in relation to the Rural . 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. There is a basic distinction between those systems with a centralized authority exercised through the machinery of government and those without any such authority in which . Why the traditional systems endure, how the institutional dichotomy impacts the process of building democratic governance, and how the problems of institutional incoherence might be mitigated are issues that have not yet received adequate attention in African studies. Rather, they often rely on voluntary compliance, although they also apply some soft power to discourage noncompliance by members with customary laws. Indigenous African Education - 2392 Words | Studymode The point here is that peer pressure, examples, and precedents are especially important in a region of 54 states, many of them dependent on satisfactory relations with their neighbors. Form of State: Federal, Unitary or - Jerusalem Center for Public 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. First, many of the conflicts enumerated take place within a limited number of conflict-affected countries and in clearly-defined geographic zones (the Sahel and Nigeria; Central Africa; and the Horn.) 79 (3), (1995) pp. 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). PDF Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since - EOLSS Regional governance comes into play here, and certain precedents may get set and then ratified by regional or sub-regional organizations. To sum up, traditional institutions provide vital governance services to communities that operate under traditional socioeconomic spaces. The challenge facing Africas leadersperhaps above all othersis how to govern under conditions of ethnic diversity. Types of government practiced in Nigeria, from monarchy to democracy These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the government. Three layers of institutions characterize most African countries. With respect to their relevance, traditional institutions remain indispensable for several reasons. Less than 20% of Africa's states achieved statehood following rebellion or armed insurgency; in the others, independence flowed from . media system, was concerned with the more systematized dissemination of information between the traditional administrative organ and the people (subjects). Countries such as Burkina Faso, Guinea, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, for example, attempted to strip chiefs of most of their authority or even abolish chieftaincy altogether. In this respect, they complement official courts that are often unable to provide court services to all their rural communities. South Africa: Introduction >> globalEDGE: Your source for Global 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. The cases of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan suggest that each case must be assessed on its own merits. 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. It may be good to note, as a preliminary, that African political systems of the past dis played considerable variety. Evidence from case studies, however, suggests that the size of adherents varies from country to country. They also serve as guardians and symbols of cultural values and practices. The link was not copied. 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 Module Seven A: African History, you explored the histories of a wide diversity of pre-colonial African societies. 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. 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. The guiding principle behind these two attributes is that conflict is a societal problem and that resolving conflict requires societal engagement. Not surprisingly, incumbent leaders facing these challenges look to short-term military remedies and extend a welcome to military partnerswith France, the United States, and the United Nations the leading candidates. In this context the chapter further touches on the compatibility of the institution of chieftaincy with constitutional principles such as equality, accountability, natural justice, good governance, and respect for fundamental human rights. References: Blakemore and Cooksey (1980). The parallel institutional systems often complement each other in the continents contemporary governance. The initial constitutions and legal systems were derived from the terminal colonial era. 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. South Africas strategy revolves around recognition of customary law when it does not conflict with the constitution and involves traditional authorities in local governance. A strict democracy would enforce the "popular vote" total over the entire United States. Under conditions where nation-building is in a formative stage, the retribution-seeking judicial system and the winner-take-all multiparty election systems often lead to combustible conditions, which undermine the democratization process.



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