features of traditional african system of governmentlaura ingraham show yesterday

In addition, according to Chirayath et al. Highlight 5 features of government. Three layers of institutions characterize most African countries. 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. There is strong demand for jobs, better economic management, reduced inequality and corruption and such outcome deliverables as health, education and infrastructure.22 Those outcomes require effective governance institutions. The colonial system constitutes the second section. 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. Each of these societies had a system of government. 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. Democratic and dictatorial regimes both vest their authority in one person or a few individuals. However, at the lower level of the hierarchy of the centralized system, the difference between the centralized and decentralized systems tends to narrow notably. The quality and durability of such leader-defined adaptive resilience cannot be assured and can be reversed unless the associated norms become institutionalized. 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. African governance trends were transformed by the geopolitical changes that came with the end of the Cold War. The size and intensity of adherence to the traditional economic and institutional systems, however, vary from country to country. The population in the traditional system thus faces a vicious cycle of deprivation. media system, was concerned with the more systematized dissemination of information between the traditional administrative organ and the people (subjects). Traditional institutions already adjudicate undisclosed but large proportions of rural disputes. Given its institutional disconnect with the state, the traditional sector and the communities that operate under it invariably face marginalization in influencing policy as well as in access to economic resources throughout the continent. Public Administration and Traditional Administrative System in Africa 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. African countries are characterized by fragmentation of various aspects of their political economy, including their 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. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. Womens inequality in the traditional system is related, at least in part, to age- and gender-based divisions of labor characterizing traditional economic systems. Legitimate authority, in turn, is based on accepted laws and norms rather than the arbitrary, unconstrained power of the rulers. Good and inclusive governance is imperative for Africa's future In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. 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. The campaign by some (but not all) African states to pull out of the International Criminal Court is but one illustration of the trend. Features Of Traditional Government Administration | Bartleby African political elites are more determined than ever to shape their own destiny, and they are doing so. The key lies in identifying the variables that will shape its context. A more recent argument is that traditional institutions are incompatible with economic, social, and civil rights (Chirayath, Sage, & Woolcock, 2005). 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. Following decolonization, several African countries attempted to abolish aspects of the traditional institutional systems. There were several reasons for such measures. 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 . Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Often women are excluded from participation in decision making, especially in patrilineal social systems. The council system of the Berbers in Northern Africa also falls within this category (UNECA, 2007). f Basic Features cont. Traditional leaders would also be able to use local governance as a platform for exerting some influence on national policymaking. 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. 17-19 1.6. The features associated with this new form of governmental administration deal with smaller government responsibility for providing goods and services. In some countries, such as Botswana, customary courts are estimated to handle approximately 80% of criminal cases and 90% of civil cases (Sharma, 2004). Customary law also manages land tenure and land allocation patterns. Leaders may not be the only ones who support this definition of legitimacy. 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? The geography of South Africa is vast scrubland in the interior, the Namib Desert in the northwest, and tropics in the southeast. Some live in remote areas beyond the reach of some of the institutions of the state, such as courts. On the one hand, they recognize the need for strong, responsive state institutions; weak, fragile states do not lead to good governance. Traditional Governance Systems - Participedia This fragmentation is also unlikely to go away anytime soon on its own. One can identify five bases of regime legitimacy in the African context today. Hindrance to democratization: Perhaps among the most important challenges institutional fragmentation poses is to the process of democratization. Enlightened leaders face a more complex version of the same challenge: how to find and mobilize the resources for broad-based inclusiveness? On the opposite side are the decentralized systems, led by a council of elders, that command little formal power. Both can be identified as forms of governance. Non-official institutions and civil society may have very different ideas from the national government on this issue, leading to debates about legitimacy. . The Constitution states that the institution, status and roles of traditional leadership, according to customary law, are recognised. 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 most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. (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. In other cases, however, they survived as paid civil servants of the state without displacing the traditional elder-based traditional authority systems. Finally, the chapter considers the future of the institution against the background of the many issues and challenges considered. These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the government. 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. 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. States would be more effective in reforming the traditional judicial system if they recognized them rather than neglecting them, as often is the case. FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT. Introduction. Africa contains more sovereign nations than any other continent, with 54 countries compared to Asia's 47. The endurance of traditional institutions entails complex and paradoxical implications for contemporary Africas governance. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. It is imperative that customary land rights are recognized and respected so that communities in the traditional economic system exercise control of land and other resources under their customary ownership, at least until alternative sources of employment are developed to absorb those who might be displaced. Another basic question is, whom to include? Tribes had relatively little power outside their own group during the colonial period. Societal conflicts: Institutional dichotomy often entails incompatibility between the systems. One layer represents the formal institutions (laws) of the state. 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. In some cases, community elders select future Sultanes at a young age and groom them for the position. This can happen in several ways. Nonhereditary selected leaders with constitutional power: A good example of this is the Gada system of the Oromo in Ethiopia and Kenya. The US system has survived four years of a norm-busting president by the skin of its teeth - which areas need most urgent attention? 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. Traditional governments have the following functions; 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. 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. Indeed, it should be added that a high percentage of todays conflicts are recurrences of previous ones, often in slightly modified form with parties that may organize under more than one flag. Traditional African Religions - The Spiritual Life Department of Political Science, Pennsylvania State University, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Contentious Politics and Political Violence, Political Values, Beliefs, and Ideologies, Why African Traditional Institutions Endure, Authority Systems of Africas Traditional Institutions, Relevance and Paradox of Traditional Institutions, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1347, United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, Global Actors: Networks, Elites, and Institutions, Traditional Leaders and Development in Africa. To sum up, traditional institutions provide vital governance services to communities that operate under traditional socioeconomic spaces. 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. By 2016, 35 AU members had joined it, but less than half actually subjected themselves to being assessed. Indigenous education is a process of passing the inherited knowledge, skills, cultural traditions norms and values of the tribe, among the tribal member from one generation to another Mushi (2009). Africas geopolitical environment is shaped by Africans to a considerable degree. Unlike the laws of the state, traditional institutions rarely have the coercive powers to enforce their customary laws. Galizzi, Paolo and Abotsi, Ernest K., Traditional Institutions and Governance in Modern African Democracies (May 9, 2011). 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. Basing key political decisions on broad societal and inter-party consensus may help to de-escalate cutthroat competition that often leads to violent conflicts. The traditional Africa system of government is open and inclusive, where strangers, foreigners and even slaves could participate in the decision-making process. Regional governance comes into play here, and certain precedents may get set and then ratified by regional or sub-regional organizations. Thus, despite abolition efforts by postcolonial states and the arguments against the traditional institutions in the literature, the systems endure and remain rather indispensable for the communities in traditional economic systems. not because of, the unique features of US democracy . There are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. Traditional and informal justice systems aim at restoring social cohesion within the community by promoting reconciliation between disputing parties. Hoover scholars offer analysis of current policy challenges and provide solutions on how America can advance freedom, peace, and prosperity. The book contains eight separate papers produced by scholars working in the field of anthropology, each of which focuses in on a different society in Sub-Saharan Africa. The article has three principal objectives and is organized into four parts. While empirical data are rather scanty, indications are that the traditional judicial system serves the overwhelming majority of rural communities (Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). This approach to governance was prominent in the Oyo empire. Typically, such leaders scheme to rig elections or to change constitutional term limitsactions seen in recent years in such countries as Rwanda and Uganda. 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. Sometimes, another precedent flows from thesenamely, pressure from outside the country but with some support internally as well for creating a transitional government of national unity. As a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) study (2007) notes, traditional leaders often operate as custodians of customary law and communal assets, especially land. Chiefs with limited power: Another category of chiefs is those that are hereditary, like the paramount chiefs, but have limited powers. Contents 1. Posted: 12 May 2011. Judicial marginalization: Another challenge posed by institutional fragmentation relates to marginalization of the traditional system within the formal legal system. The purpose is to stress that such efforts and the attendant will The African state system has gradually developed a stronger indigenous quality only in the last twenty-five years or so. Pastoral economic systems, for example, foster communal land tenure systems that allow unhindered mobility of livestock, while a capitalist economic system requires a private land ownership system that excludes access to others and allows long-term investments on land. In other words, the transition from traditional modes of production to a capitalist economic system has advanced more in some countries than in others. Only four states in AfricaBotswana, Gambia, Mauritius, and Senegalretained multiparty systems. One of these is the potential influence exerted by the regions leading states, measured in terms of size, population, economic weight, and overall political clout and leadership prestige. Some regimes seem resilient because of their apparent staying power but actually have a narrow base of (typically ethnic or regional) support. 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). The customary structures of governance of traditional leadership were put aside or transformed. 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. 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 third section looks at the critical role of political and economic inclusion in shaping peace and stability and points to some of the primary challenges leaders face in deciding how to manage inclusion: whom to include and how to pay for it. In traditional African communities, it was not possible to distinguish between religious and non-religious areas of life. 2. 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. 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. 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. Today, the five most common government systems include democracy, republic, monarchy, communism and . In some societies, traditional, tribal authorities may offer informed and genuinely accepted governance, provided that they are not merely government appointees pursuing decentralized self-enrichment. 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. Such a consensus-building mechanism can help resolve many of the conflicts related to diversity management and nation-building. 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). History. There are also various arguments in the literature against traditional institutions.2 One argument is that chieftaincy impedes the pace of development as it reduces the relevance of the state in the area of social services (Tom Mboya in Osaghae, 1989). There is also the question of inclusion of specific demographic cohorts: women, youth, and migrants from rural to urban areas (including migrant women) all face issues of exclusion that can have an impact on conflict and governance. The Role and Significance of Traditional Leadership in South African the system even after independence. Figure 1 captures this turn to authoritarianism in postindependence Africa. Relevance of African traditional institutions of governance | Eldis The roles assigned to them by the colonial state came to an end, and the new state imposed its own modifications of their roles. The structures of leadership of African traditional institutions are diverse and they have yet to be mapped out comprehensively. 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 . 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. PDF NNSO OKAF, Ph.D. (a.k.a. OKEREAFEZEKE) Learn more about joining the community of supporters and scholars working together to advance Hoovers mission and values. Note: The term rural population is used as a proxy for the population operating under traditional economic systems. Strictly speaking, Ghana was the title of the King, but the Arabs, who left records . The traditional African religions (or traditional beliefs and practices of African people) are a set of highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions . But established and recognized forms of inherited rule cannot be lightly dismissed as un-modern, especially when linked to the identity of an ethnic or tribal group, and could be construed as a building block of legitimacy. Council of elders: These systems essentially operate on consensual decision-making arrangements that vary from one place to another. This study notes that in 2007 Africa saw 12 conflicts in 10 countries. Despite such changes, these institutions are referred to as traditional not because they continue to exist in an unadulterated form as they did in Africas precolonial past but because they are largely born of the precolonial political systems and are adhered to principally, although not exclusively, by the population in the traditional (subsistent) sectors of the economy. Extensive survey research is required to estimate the size of adherents to traditional institutions. Communities in the traditional socioeconomic space are hardly represented in any of the organizations of the state, such as the parliament, where they can influence policy and the legal system to reflect their interests.

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