features of traditional african system of government

Impact of Historical Origins of African State System2. Strictly speaking, Ghana was the title of the King, but the Arabs, who left records . Another common feature is the involvement of traditional authorities in the governance process, at least at the local level. Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Politics. 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 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). 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. 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. Despite undergoing changes, present-day African traditional institutions, namely the customary laws, the judicial systems and conflict resolution mechanisms, and the property rights and resource allocation practices, largely originate from formal institutions of governance that existed under precolonial African political systems. Invented chiefs and state-paid elders: These were chiefs imposed by the colonial state on decentralized communities without centralized authority systems. Hoover Education Success Initiative | The Papers. 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. With its eminent scholars and world-renowned library and archives, the Hoover Institution seeks to improve the human condition by advancing ideas that promote economic opportunity and prosperity, while securing and safeguarding peace for America and all mankind. Regardless, fragmentation of institutional systems poses a number of serious challenges to Africas governance and economic development. The Political History of Africa: The Pre-Colonial Era - African 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. What Are the Weaknesses of Traditional Security Systems? 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 nature of governance is central because it determines whether the exercise of authority is viewed as legitimate. 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. 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 development of inclusive institutions may involve struggles that enable political and societal actors to check the domination of entrenched rulers and to broaden rule-based participation in governance. The same technology vectors can also empower criminal, trafficking, and terrorist networks, all of which pose threats to state sovereignty. The traditional justice system, thus, does not have the power to grant any rights beyond the local level. Finally, the chapter considers the future of the institution against the background of the many issues and challenges considered. 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 Ten years later, in 2017, the number of conflicts was 18, taking place in 13 different countries. In the thankfully rare cases where national governance breaks down completelySouth Sudan, Somalia, CARits absence is an invitation to every ethnic or geographic community to fend for itselfa classic security dilemma. What policies and laws will determine relations between farmers and urban dwellers, between farmers and herders, between diverse identity groups living in close proximity or encroaching on each others farm land, and between public officials, criminal networks and ordinary citizens? 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. 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%. 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. Posted: 12 May 2011. Traditional institutions have continued to metamorphose under the postcolonial state, as Africas socioeconomic systems continue to evolve. Relevance of African traditional institutions of Governance 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. Form of State: Federal, Unitary or - Jerusalem Center for Public Government, Public Policy Performance, Types of Government. This proposal will be subject to a referendum on the constitutional changes required.16.2e 2.4 Traditional leadership Traditional leaders are accorded Safeguarding womens rights thus becomes hard without transforming the economic system under which they operate. Problems and Purpose. The chapter further examines the dabbling of traditional leaders in the political process in spite of the proscription of the institution from mainstream politics and, in this context, analyzes the policy rationale for attempting to detach chieftaincy from partisan politics. One influential research group, SIPRI in Sweden, counted a total of 9 active armed conflicts in 2017 (in all of Africa) plus another 7 post-conflict and potential conflict situations.3, More revealing is the granular comparison of conflict types over time. Broadly speaking, indigenous systems of governance are those that were practiced by local populations in pre-colonial times. The kings and chiefs of Angola and Asante, for example, allowed European merchants to send their representatives to their courts. Understanding the Gadaa System. 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). 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. 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). Under the circumstances, it becomes critical that traditional leaders are directly involved in local governance so that they protect the interests of their communities. 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. Should inclusion be an ongoing process or a single event? Typically, such leaders scheme to rig elections or to change constitutional term limitsactions seen in recent years in such countries as Rwanda and Uganda. . One-sided violence against unarmed civilians has also spiked up since 2011.4, These numbers require three major points of clarification. 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. African indigenous education was. This enhanced his authority. Public Administration and Traditional Administrative System in Africa This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in. Contents 1. These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the government. Democratic and dictatorial regimes both vest their authority in one person or a few individuals. Another driver of governance trends will be the access enjoyed by youthful and rapidly urbanizing populations to the technologies that are changing the global communications space. The Role and Significance of Traditional Leadership in South African A Functional Approach to define Government 2. In many cases European or Islamic legal traditions have replaced or significantly modified traditional African ones. Institutional dichotomy also seems to be a characteristic of transitional societies, which are between modes of production. 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. 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. As institutional scholars state, institutional incompatibility leads to societal conflicts by projecting different laws governing societal interactions (Eisenstadt, 1968; Helmke & Levitsky, 2004; March & Olsen, 1984; North, 1990; Olsen, 2007). 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. 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. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Similarities between Democratic and Authoritarian Government. A third pattern flows from the authoritarian reflex where big men operate arbitrary political machines, often behind a thin democratic veneer. This concept paper focuses on the traditional system of governance in Africa including their consensual decision-making models, as part of a broader effort to better define and advocate their role in achieving good governance. 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. An election bound to be held in the year 2019 will unveil the new . One snapshot by the influential Mo Ibrahim index of African Governance noted in 2015 that overall governance progress in Africa is stalling, and decided not to award a leadership award that year. The US system has survived four years of a norm-busting president by the skin of its teeth - which areas need most urgent attention? Chester A. Crocker is the James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University. Fitzpatrick 'Traditionalism and Traditional Law' Journal of African Law, Vol. Governance: Why democracy is failing in Africa - GhanaWeb One is that the leaders of the postcolonial state saw traditional institutions and their leadership as archaic vestiges of the past that no longer had a place in Africas modern system of governance. 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). Overturning regimes in Africas often fragile states could become easier to do, without necessarily leading to better governance. In Botswana, for example, the consensual decision-making process in the kgotla (public meeting) regulates the power of the chiefs. In many cases, the invented chieftaincies were unsuccessful in displacing the consensus-based governance structures (Gartrell, 1983; Uwazie, 1994). All the characteristic features of a traditional society are, for obvious reasons, reflected in the education system. Unlike the laws of the state, traditional institutions rarely have the coercive powers to enforce their customary laws. Since institutional fragmentation is a major obstacle to nation-building and democratization, it is imperative that African countries address it and forge institutional harmony. 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. Perhaps one of the most serious shared weakness relates to gender relations. Some African nations are prosperous while others struggle. 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at Others contend that African countries need to follow a mixed institutional system incorporating the traditional and formal systems (Sklar, 2003). On the one side, there are the centralized systems where leaders command near absolute power. According to this analysis, Africas traditional institutional systems are likely to endure as long as the traditional subsistent economic systems continue to exist. Features/Characteristics Of Government - 2022 - StopLearn Chiefs such as those of the Nuer and Dinka are examples of this category. The parallel institutional systems often complement each other in the continents contemporary governance. While empirical data are rather scanty, indications are that the traditional judicial system serves the overwhelming majority of rural communities (Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). The campaign by some (but not all) African states to pull out of the International Criminal Court is but one illustration of the trend. 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. 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. This chapter examines traditional leadership within the context of the emerging constitutional democracy in Ghana. 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. A Sociology of Education for Africa . On the other hand, their endurance creates institutional fragmentation that has adverse impacts on Africas governance and socioeconomic transformation. African political systems are described in a number of textbooks and general books on African history. 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). They must know the traditional songs and must also be able to improvise songs about current events and chance incidents. Analysis here is thus limited to traditional authority systems under the postcolonial experience. This study notes that in 2007 Africa saw 12 conflicts in 10 countries. The African Charter: A Printed Futility or a Reflection of Human Rights The problems that face African governments are universal. For example, the electoral college forces a republic type of voting system. Prominent among these Sudanic states was the Soninke Kingdom of Ancient Ghana. 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). 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. The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. But it also reflects the impact of Arab, Russian, Chinese, Indian, European and U.S. vectors of influence which project their differences into African societies. THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW, Fenrich, Galizzi, Higgins, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2011, 27 Pages 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 . States would be more effective in reforming the traditional judicial system if they recognized them rather than neglecting them, as often is the case. for a democratic system of government. 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 are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. A second argument is that traditional institutions are hindrances to the development of democratic governance (Mamdani, 1996; Ntsebeza, 2005). Perhaps a more realistic transitional approach would be to reconcile the parallel institutions while simultaneously pursuing policies that transform traditional economic systems. 7. 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. However, they do not have custodianship of land and they generally do not dispense justice on their own. African conflict trends point to a complex picture, made more so by the differing methodologies used by different research groups. Features Of Traditional Government Administration | Bartleby Hoover scholars offer analysis of current policy challenges and provide solutions on how America can advance freedom, peace, and prosperity. Note that Maine and . The Chinese understand the basics. 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. The traditional African religions (or traditional beliefs and practices of African people) are a set of highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions . In Sierra Leone, paramount chiefs are community leaders and their tasks involve - among others - protecting community safety and resolving disputes. (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. This category of chiefs serves their communities in various and sometimes complex roles, which includes spiritual service. 20-27, at p. 21; Carey N. Vicenti 'The re-emergence of tribal society and traditional justice systems' Judicature, Vol. Leaders may not be the only ones who support this definition of legitimacy. The council system of the Berbers in Northern Africa also falls within this category (UNECA, 2007). In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. The customary structures of governance of traditional leadership were put aside or transformed. The key . 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 20 th century. Another measure is recognition of customary law and traditional judicial systems by the state. 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 a few easy steps create an account and receive the most recent analysis from Hoover fellows tailored to your specific policy interests. A second attribute is the participatory decision-making system. African traditional administrative system with bureaucratization in the emerged new states of Africa. PDF The Political Ideology of Indigenous African Political Systems and PDF African Traditional Justice Systems Francis Kariuki* 1.1 Introduction Customary law also manages land tenure and land allocation patterns. Types of Government in Africa - Synonym Ancient West Africa: Bantu Migrations & the Stateless Society All life was religious . African Traditional Political System and Institution: University of The Gambia, Faculty of humanities and social sciences. Traditional affairs. 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. Note: The term rural population is used as a proxy for the population operating under traditional economic systems. PDF Structure of Government - EOLSS 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? The key lies in identifying the variables that will shape its context. To learn more, visit Roughly 80% of rural populations in selected research sites in Ethiopia, for example, say that they rely on traditional institutions to settle disputes, while the figure is around 65% in research sites in Kenya (Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). The leaders in this system have significant powers, as they often are custodians of their communitys land and they dispense justice in their courts. Government as a Structural Element of Society 2.2. 7 Main Features of a Traditional Society - Sociology Discussion

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