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. In traditional African communities, it was not possible to distinguish between religious and non-religious areas of life. 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. 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. They must know the traditional songs and must also be able to improvise songs about current events and chance incidents. However, their participation in the electoral process has not enabled them to influence policy, protect their customary land rights, and secure access to public services that would help them overcome their deprivation. Traditional affairs | South African Government The place and role of African Youth in Pre-independence African Governance Systems 19-20 1.7. African political systems are described in a number of textbooks and general books on African history. Following decolonization, several African countries attempted to abolish aspects of the traditional institutional 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 we might call transformative resilience.21. 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. Judicial marginalization: Another challenge posed by institutional fragmentation relates to marginalization of the traditional system within the formal legal system. 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. . By Sulayman Sanneh Date: September 10th, 2021. fIntroduction Africa is a vast and . It should not be surprising that there is a weak social compact between state and society in many African states. 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. Misguided policies at the national level combined with cultural constraints facing these social groups may increase exclusion and create seeds of future trouble. In these relatively new nations, the critical task for leadership is to build a social contract that is sufficiently inclusive to permit the management of diversity. Its marginalization, in turn, impedes the transformation of the traditional sector, thus extending the fragmentation of institutions. This short article does not attempt to provide answers to all these questions, which require extensive empirical study. 79 (3), (1995) pp. Highlight 5 features of government. 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. Allocation of resources, such as land, is also much more egalitarian under the traditional system than it is under the private ownership system in the formal state system. The optimistic replyand it is a powerful oneis that Africans will gradually build inclusive political and economic institutions.18 This, however, requires wise leadership. 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. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. 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. Today, the five most common government systems include democracy, republic, monarchy, communism and . In a few easy steps create an account and receive the most recent analysis from Hoover fellows tailored to your specific policy interests. 2007 Relevance of African Traditional Institutions of Governance Ehret 2002 emphasizes the diversity and long history of precolonial social and political formations, whereas Curtin, et al. The quality and durability of such leader-defined adaptive resilience cannot be assured and can be reversed unless the associated norms become institutionalized. The earliest known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt . The first objective of the article is to shed light on the socioeconomic foundations for the resilience of Africas traditional institutions. How these differences in leadership structures impinge on the broader institutions of resources allocation patterns, judicial systems, and decision-making and conflict resolution mechanisms is still understudied. President Muhammadu Buhari is currently the federal head of state and government. 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? Others contend that African countries need to follow a mixed institutional system incorporating the traditional and formal systems (Sklar, 2003). Ancient West Africa: Bantu Migrations & the Stateless Society Editorial Citizenship and Accountability: Customary Law and Traditional This proposal will be subject to a referendum on the constitutional changes required.16.2e 2.4 Traditional leadership Traditional leaders are accorded 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). History. In Ghana, for example, local governance is an area where traditional leadership and the constitutional government sometimes lock horns. Traditional leaders often feel left out when the government takes decisions affecting their people and land without their consent or involvement. Such post-electoral pacts reflect the conclusion that stability is more important than democracy. In many tribes, the chief was the representative of the ancestors. 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. 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. While comprehensive empirical studies on the magnitude of adherence to traditional institutions are lacking, some studies point out that most people in rural areas prefer the judicial service provided by traditional institutions to those of the state, for a variety of reasons (Logan, 2011; Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). Government acknowledges the critical role of traditional leadership institutions in South Africa's constitutional democracy and in communities, particularly in relation to the Rural . Posted: 12 May 2011. One scholar specializing on the Horn of Africa likens the situation a political marketplace in which politics and violence are simply options along the spectrum pursued by powerful actors.5. Typically, such leaders scheme to rig elections or to change constitutional term limitsactions seen in recent years in such countries as Rwanda and Uganda. Similarities between Democratic and Authoritarian Government. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. Traditional governments have the following functions; To learn more, visit Contents 1. There is no more critical variable than governance, for it is governance that determines whether there are durable links between the state and the society it purports to govern. not because of, the unique features of US democracy . These different economic systems have corresponding institutional systems with divergent property rights laws and resource allocation mechanisms, disparate decision-making systems, and distinct judicial systems and conflict resolution mechanisms. Long-standing kingdoms such as those in Morocco and Swaziland are recognized national states. Before then, traditional authorities essentially provided leadership for the various communities and kingdoms. Features Of Traditional Government Administration | Bartleby 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. 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 role of traditional leaders in modern Africa, especially in modern African democracies, is complex and multifaceted. Traditional affairs. Ethiopias monarchy ended in 1974 while the other three remain, with only the king of Swaziland enjoying absolute power. 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 this respect, they complement official courts that are often unable to provide court services to all their rural communities. These features include nonprofits, non-profits and hybrid entities are now provide goods and services that were once delivered by the government. Even old-fashioned tyrants learn that inclusion or co-option are expensive. Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in African society . Afrocentrism, also called Africentrism, cultural and political movement whose mainly African American adherents regard themselves and all other Blacks as syncretic Africans and believe that their worldview should positively reflect traditional African values. Good and inclusive governance is imperative for Africa's future Africa's tumultuous political history has resulted in extreme disparities between the wealth and stability of its countries. Such adjustments, however, may require contextualization of the institutions of democracy by adjusting these institutions to reflect African realities. Fitzpatrick 'Traditionalism and Traditional Law' Journal of African Law, Vol. What Is a Command Economy? - The Balance One common feature is recognition of customary property rights laws, especially that of land. Constitutions of postcolonial states have further limited the power of chiefs. f Basic Features cont. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. An alternative strategy of bringing about institutional harmony would be to transform the traditional economic systems into an exchange-based economy that would be compatible with the formal institutions of the state. Africas geopolitical environment is shaped by Africans to a considerable degree. 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. Admittedly, the problem is by no means uniquely African, but it is very commonly experienced in Africa. 1. Furthermore, for generations, Africans were taught the Western notion of the tribe as . 1995 focuses on social, economic, and intellectual trends up to the end of the colonial era. Most of the states that had attempted to abolish chieftaincy have retracted the abolitionist decrees and reinstated chiefs. 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. 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. This section attempts to explain these seemingly contradictory implications of traditional institutions. Three layers of institutions characterize most African countries. Types of government practiced in Nigeria, from monarchy to democracy Note that Maine and . General Overviews. 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. The traditional and informal justice systems, it is argued offers greater access to justice. The cases of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan suggest that each case must be assessed on its own merits. Only four states in AfricaBotswana, Gambia, Mauritius, and Senegalretained multiparty systems. Such a transformation would render traditional institutions dispensable. As Mamdani has argued, understanding the role of traditional leadership and customary law in contemporary African societies requires us to understand its history. The Role of Traditional Leaders in Post Independence Countries Botswana Relevance of African traditional institutions of governance | Eldis . Reconciling the parallel institutional systems is also unlikely to deliver the intended results in a short time; however, there may not be any better alternatives. The same technology vectors can also empower criminal, trafficking, and terrorist networks, all of which pose threats to state sovereignty. This can happen in several ways. 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 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 governance trends were transformed by the geopolitical changes that came with the end of the Cold War. African countries are characterized by fragmentation of various aspects of their political economy, including their institutions of governance. 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. The structures of leadership of African traditional institutions are diverse and they have yet to be mapped out comprehensively. The Boundaries of Tradition: An Examination of the Traditional These include - murder, burglary, landcase, witchcraft, profaning the deities and homicide. In some countries, such as Botswana, customary courts are estimated to handle approximately 80% of criminal cases and 90% of civil cases (Sharma, 2004). 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). Pre-Colonial Period in Ghana | Pre-Colonial Political Systems Act,12 the African system of governance was changed and transformed, and new structures were put in place of old ones.13 Under the Union of South Africa, the Gov- Broadly speaking, indigenous systems of governance are those that were practiced by local populations in pre-colonial times. In the past decade, traditional security systems utilized in commercial or government facilities have consisted of a few basic elements: a well-trained personnel, a CCTV system, and some kind of access control system. 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). PDF NNSO OKAF, Ph.D. (a.k.a. OKEREAFEZEKE) 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. The implementation of these systems often . 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. On the other hand, weak or destructive governance is sometimes the source of conflicts in the first place. Traditional Types of Government: Definitions, Strengths & Weaknesses Another issue that needs some clarification is the neglect by the literature of the traditional institutions of the political systems without centralized authority structures. media system, was concerned with the more systematized dissemination of information between the traditional administrative organ and the people (subjects). 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). Regional governance comes into play here, and certain precedents may get set and then ratified by regional or sub-regional organizations.