features of traditional african system of government

A partial explanation as to why the traditional systems endure was given in the section Why African Traditional Institutions Endure. The argument in that section was that they endure primarily because they are compatible with traditional economic systems, under which large segments of the African population still operate. 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. 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. Galizzi, Paolo and Abotsi, Ernest K., Traditional Institutions and Governance in Modern African Democracies (May 9, 2011). African governance trends were transformed by the geopolitical changes that came with the end of the Cold War. 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. 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 fourth part draws a conclusion with a tentative proposal on how the traditional institutions might be reconciled with the formal institutions to address the problem of institutional incoherence. Towards a Definition of Government 1.3. Indications are, however, that the more centralized the system is, the lower the accountability and popular participation in decision making. The customary structures of governance of traditional leadership were put aside or transformed. Aristotle was the first to define three principal types of government systems in the fourth century B.C. Posted: 12 May 2011. 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. Finally, the chapter considers the future of the institution against the background of the many issues and challenges considered. In many tribes, the chief was the representative of the ancestors. Certain offences were regarded as serious offences. Overturning regimes in Africas often fragile states could become easier to do, without necessarily leading to better governance. There was a lot of consultation between the elders before any major decision was made. Table 1 shows the proportion of the population that operates under traditional economic systems in selected African countries. Democracy, Monarchy and Dictatorship: Types of Government Systems 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. This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in. African conflict trends point to a complex picture, made more so by the differing methodologies used by different research groups. Such a transformation would render traditional institutions dispensable. African states, along with Asian, Middle Eastern, and even European governments, have all been affected. 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. Both can be identified as forms of governance. not because of, the unique features of US democracy . 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. Basing key political decisions on broad societal and inter-party consensus may help to de-escalate cutthroat competition that often leads to violent conflicts. West Africa has a long and complex history. 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. 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. We know a good deal about what Africans want and demand from their governments from public opinion surveys by Afrobarometer. 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. The essay concludes with a sobering reflection on the challenge of achieving resilient governance. Additionally, the Guurti is charged with resolving conflicts in the country using traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. It is also challenging to map them out without specifying their time frame. Beyond such macro factors, several less obvious variables seem important to the political and economic governance future of the region. Public Administration and Traditional Administrative System in Africa The most promising pattern is adaptive resilience in which leaders facing such pressures create safety valves or outlets for managing social unrest. 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. 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. The jury is still out on the merits of this practice. The political systems of most African nations are based on forms of government put in place by colonial authorities during the era of European rule. African Politics - Political Science - iResearchNet In addition, resolution needs to be acceptable to all parties. The African Charter embodies some of the human . 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. The political history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans andat least 200,000 years agoanatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. African Traditional Political Systems and Intitutions - Academia.edu 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. 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). . Another layer represents the societal norms and customs that differ along various cultural traits. This theme, which is further developed below, is especially critical bearing in mind that Africa is the worlds most ethnically complex region, home to 20 of the worlds most diverse countries in terms of ethnic composition.8. Admittedly, the problem is by no means uniquely African, but it is very commonly experienced 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. Traditional affairs. Another common feature is the involvement of traditional authorities in the governance process, at least at the local level. Pre-colonial Administration of the Yorubas. 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 long-term route to political and economic success has been comprehensively documented by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in their global study of why nations fail or succeed. As noted, there are notable differences in the authority systems of African traditional institutions. 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at Traditional affairs | South African Government 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). However, three countries, Botswana, Somaliland, and South Africa, have undertaken differing measures with varying levels of success. Misguided policies at the national level combined with cultural constraints facing these social groups may increase exclusion and create seeds of future trouble. 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. Uneven access to public services, such as educational, health, and communication services, and the disproportionately high poverty rates in the traditional sector are manifestations of the sectors marginalization. 1.4. 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. Third, Africas conflict burden reflects different forms and sources of violence that sometimes become linked to each other: political movements may gain financing and coercive support from criminal networks and traffickers, while religious militants with connections to terrorist groups are often adept at making common cause with local grievance activists. South Africas strategy revolves around recognition of customary law when it does not conflict with the constitution and involves traditional authorities in local governance. Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Politics. These include - murder, burglary, landcase, witchcraft, profaning the deities and homicide. (PDF) The role and significance of traditional leadership in the The Role and Significance of Traditional Leadership in South African The pre-colonial system in Yoruba can be described to be democratic because of the inclusion of the principle of checks and balances that had been introduced in the system of administration. Relatively unfettered access to the internet via smart phones and laptops brings informationand hence potential powerto individuals and groups about all kinds of things: e.g., market prices, the views of relatives in the diaspora, conditions in the country next door, and the self-enrichment of corrupt officials. 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". This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in 0.093 seconds, Using these links will ensure access to this page indefinitely. The Political History of Africa: The Pre-Colonial Era - African Furthermore, for generations, Africans were taught the Western notion of the tribe as . 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 . Despite the adoption of constitutional term limits in many African countries during the 1990s, such restrictions have been reversed or defied in at least 15 countries since 2000, according to a recent report.6, The conflict-governance link takes various forms, and it points to the centrality of the variable of leadership. 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. African Solutions for African Problems - The Real Meaning The regime in this case captures the state, co-opts the security organs, and dissolves civil society. 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. 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. 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. 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. Fitzpatrick 'Traditionalism and Traditional Law' Journal of African Law, Vol. South Africa has a mixed economy in which there is a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic . Government and the Political System 2.1. 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. Political and economic inclusion is the companion requirement for effective and legitimate governance. The post-colonial State, on the other hand . Good and inclusive governance is imperative for Africa's future 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. At times, these traditional security system elements are sufficient enough for some uses, but there's certainly no denying . Chiefs with limited power: Another category of chiefs is those that are hereditary, like the paramount chiefs, but have limited powers. However, the traditional modes of production and the institutional systems associated with them also remain entrenched among large segments of the population. Chiefs such as those of the Nuer and Dinka are examples of this category. (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. 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). 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. Government: A Multifarious Concept 1.2. Legitimacy based on successful predation and state capture was well known to the Plantagenets and Tudors as well as the Hapsburgs, Medicis, and Romanovs, to say nothing of the Mughal descendants of Genghis Khan.14 In this fifth model of imagined legitimacy, some African leaders operate essentially on patrimonial principles that Vladimir Putin can easily recognize (the Dos Santos era in Angola, the DRC under Mobutu and Kabila, the Eyadema, Bongo, Biya, and Obiang regimes in Togo, Gabon, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea, respectively).15 Such regimes may seek to perpetuate themselves by positioning wives or sons to inherit power. eLimu | Political developments and systems These events point to extreme state fragility and a loss of sovereign control over violence in the 11 affected countries, led by Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic (CAR). A key factor in the size of adherents of rural institutions, however, seems to depend on the ratio of the population in the traditional economic systems to the total population. With the exceptions of a few works, such as Legesse (1973), the institutions of the decentralized political systems, which are often elder-based with group leadership, have received little attention, even though these systems are widespread and have the institutions of judicial systems and mechanisms of conflict resolution and allocation of resources, like the institutions of the centralized systems. 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.

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