features of traditional african system of government

Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in African society . Unfortunately, transforming the traditional sector is not an easy undertaking and cannot be achieved in a reasonably short time. The parallel institutional systems often complement each other in the continents contemporary governance. Legitimate authority, in turn, is based on accepted laws and norms rather than the arbitrary, unconstrained power of the rulers. 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. Traditional affairs | South African Government It may be good to note, as a preliminary, that African political systems of the past dis played considerable variety. The endurance of traditional institutions entails complex and paradoxical implications for contemporary Africas governance. 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. When conflicts evolve along ethnic lines, they are readily labelled ethnic conflict as if caused by ancient hatreds; in reality, it is more often caused by bad governance and by political entrepreneurs. 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. However, the traditional judicial system has some weaknesses, especially with respect to gender equality. This can happen in several ways. Due to the influence of previous South African and Nigerian leaders, the African Union established the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to review and report on a range of governance criteria. Only four states in AfricaBotswana, Gambia, Mauritius, and Senegalretained multiparty systems. Legitimate authority, in turn, is based on accepted laws and norms rather than the arbitrary, unconstrained power of the rulers. Ousted royals such as Haile Selassie (Ethiopia) and King Idriss (Libya) may be replaced by self-anointed secular rulers who behave as if they were kings until they, in turn, get overthrown. Safeguarding womens rights thus becomes hard without transforming the economic system under which they operate. 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. 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. 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. 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 . Political and economic inclusion is the companion requirement for effective and legitimate governance. On the other hand, weak or destructive governance is sometimes the source of conflicts in the first place. 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). While this seems obvious, it is less clear what vectors and drivers will have the most weight in shaping that outcome. 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. Form of State: Federal, Unitary or - Jerusalem Center for Public As a result, customary law, which often is not recognized by the state or is recognized only when it does not contradict the constitution, does not protect communities from possible transgressions by the state. 17-19 1.6. 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. Highlight 5 features of government. The problems that face African governments are universal. States would be more effective in reforming the traditional judicial system if they recognized them rather than neglecting them, as often is the case. The same technology vectors can also empower criminal, trafficking, and terrorist networks, all of which pose threats to state sovereignty. Hoover scholars offer analysis of current policy challenges and provide solutions on how America can advance freedom, peace, and prosperity. 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%. South Africas strategy revolves around recognition of customary law when it does not conflict with the constitution and involves traditional authorities in local governance. Precolonial Political Systems - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies By 2016, 35 AU members had joined it, but less than half actually subjected themselves to being assessed. History. The implementation of these systems often . 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 traditional African religions (or traditional beliefs and practices of African people) are a set of highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions . Differences and Similarities between Democracy and Authoritarian 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. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. The formal institutions of checks and balances and accountability of leaders to the population are rather weak in this system. Finally, the chapter considers the future of the institution against the background of the many issues and challenges considered. Non-official institutions and civil society may have very different ideas from the national government on this issue, leading to debates about legitimacy. 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 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. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. Land privatization is, thus, unworkable in pastoral communities, as communal land ownership would be unworkable in a capitalist economy. Against this backdrop, where is African governance headed? 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. For these and other reasons, the state-society gap lies at the heart of the problems faced by many states. Within this spectrum, some eight types of leadership structures can be identified. 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. 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. It should not be surprising that there is a weak social compact between state and society in many African states. They are already governing much of rural Africa. 2. Good and inclusive governance is imperative for Africa's future This we might call transformative resilience.21. In addition, they have traditional institutions of governance of various national entities, including those surrounding the Asantehene of the Ashanti in Ghana and the Kabaka of the Buganda in Uganda. At times, devolution has had major fiscal and governance consequences, including serving as a vehicle for co-option and corruption. The colonial state modified their precolonial roles. The features associated with this new form of governmental administration deal with smaller government responsibility for providing goods and services. African political systems are described in a number of textbooks and general books on African history. 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. Careful analysis suggests that African traditional institutions lie in a continuum between the highly decentralized to the centralized systems and they all have resource allocation practices, conflict resolution, judicial systems, and decision-making practices, which are distinct from those of the state. The traditional and informal justice systems, it is argued offers greater access to justice. With the dawn of colonialism in Africa, the traditional African government was sys-tematically weakened, and the strong and influential bond between traditional lead- . Perhaps one of the most serious shared weakness relates to gender relations. It assigned them new roles while stripping away some of their traditional roles. 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. Poor leadership can result in acts of commission or omission that alienate or disenfranchise geographically distinct communities. In other words, the transition from traditional modes of production to a capitalist economic system has advanced more in some countries than in others. The term covers the expressed commands of In some countries, such as Botswana, customary courts are estimated to handle approximately 80% of criminal cases and 90% of civil cases (Sharma, 2004). 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. Customary law also manages land tenure and land allocation patterns. Based on existing evidence, the authority systems in postcolonial Africa lie in a continuum between two polar points. Another common feature is the involvement of traditional authorities in the governance process, at least at the local level. The council system of the Berbers in Northern Africa also falls within this category (UNECA, 2007). 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). The result is transitory resilience of the regime, but shaky political stability, declining cohesion, and eventual conflict or violent change. Another issue that needs some clarification is the neglect by the literature of the traditional institutions of the political systems without centralized authority structures. PDF NNSO OKAF, Ph.D. (a.k.a. OKEREAFEZEKE) The first three parts deal with the principal objectives of the article. Traditional institutions have continued to metamorphose under the postcolonial state, as Africas socioeconomic systems continue to evolve. f Basic Features cont. Another measure is recognition of customary law and traditional judicial systems by the state. 7 Main Features of a Traditional Society - Sociology Discussion The role of chieftaincy within post-colonial African countries continues to incite lively debates, as the case of Ghana exemplifies. An analytical study and impact of colonialism on pre-colonial centralized and decentralized African Traditional and Political Systems. However, at the lower level of the hierarchy of the centralized system, the difference between the centralized and decentralized systems tends to narrow notably. 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. The leader is accountable to various levels of elders, who serve as legislators and as judges (Legesse, 1973; Taa, 2017). 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. Poor gender relations: Traditional institutions share some common weaknesses. The debate is defined by "traditionalists" and "modernists." . for in tradi-tional African communities, politics and religion were closely associated. Aristotle was the first to define three principal types of government systems in the fourth century B.C. Although considerable differences exist among the various systems, opportunities for women to participate in decision making in most traditional systems are generally limited. Many other countries have non-centralized elder-based traditional institutions. In some cases, they are also denied child custody rights. Overturning regimes in Africas often fragile states could become easier to do, without necessarily leading to better governance. In other cases, however, they survived as paid civil servants of the state without displacing the traditional elder-based traditional authority systems. Africa: Government and Political Systems - Geography The reasons why rural communities adhere to the traditional institutions are many (Logan, 2011; Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). 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. The optimistic replyand it is a powerful oneis that Africans will gradually build inclusive political and economic institutions.18 This, however, requires wise leadership. 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. Government, Public Policy Performance, Types of Government. Such post-electoral pacts reflect the conclusion that stability is more important than democracy. Other governance systems in the post-independence era and their unique features, if any. 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. Features Of Traditional Government Administration. 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. They must know the traditional songs and must also be able to improvise songs about current events and chance incidents. This chapter examines traditional leadership within the context of the emerging constitutional democracy in Ghana. Another layer represents the societal norms and customs that differ along various cultural traits. For example, the electoral college forces a republic type of voting system. That is, each society had a set of rules, laws, and traditions, sometimes called customs, that established how the people would live together peacefully as part of larger group. It seems clear that Africas conflict burden declined steadily after the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s owing to successful peace processes outstripping the outbreak of new conflicts; but the burden has been spiking up again since then. Some African nations are prosperous while others struggle. Problems and Purpose. Some live in remote areas beyond the reach of some of the institutions of the state, such as courts. 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. 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. Evidence from case studies, however, suggests that the size of adherents varies from country to country. Their endurance and coexistence with the institutions of the state has created an institutional dichotomy in much of Africa. Rather, they often rely on voluntary compliance, although they also apply some soft power to discourage noncompliance by members with customary laws. 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. The essay concludes with a sobering reflection on the challenge of achieving resilient governance. By the mid-1970s, the military held power in one-third of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Features of Yoruba Pre colonial Administration - Bscholarly A more recent argument is that traditional institutions are incompatible with economic, social, and civil rights (Chirayath, Sage, & Woolcock, 2005). Posted: 12 May 2011. 20 A brief account of that history will help to highlight key continuities spanning the colonial, apartheid and the post-apartheid eras in relation to the place of customary law and the role of traditional leaders. The Boundaries of Tradition: An Examination of the Traditional Freedom Houses ratings see a pattern of decline since 2005 and note that 10 out of 25 countries (worldwide) with declining ratings are in Africa. Similarly, the process of conflict resolution is undertaken in an open assembly and is intended to reconcile parties in conflict rather than to merely punish offenders. The structures of leadership of African traditional institutions are diverse and they have yet to be mapped out comprehensively. Note that Maine and . Government and the Political System 2.1. It is also challenging to map them out without specifying their time frame. To illustrate, when there are 2.2 billion Africans, 50% of whom live in cities, how will those cities (and surrounding countryside) be governed? When a seemingly brittle regime reaches the end of its life, it becomes clear that the state-society gap is really a regime-society gap; the state withers and its institutions become hollow shells that serve mainly to extract rents. The key lies in identifying the variables that will shape its context. There are several types of government that are traditionally instituted around the world. Long-standing kingdoms such as those in Morocco and Swaziland are recognized national states. The Political History of Africa: The Pre-Colonial Era - African 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. Following decolonization, several African countries attempted to abolish aspects of the traditional institutional systems. 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. Some trust traditional leaders more than they trust state authorities. FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT. 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). Traditional Political Ideas, Values, and Practices: Their Status in the 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. African Politics: A Very Short Introduction | Oxford Academic 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). Yet, governments are expected to govern and make decisions after consulting relevant stakeholders. Your gift helps advance ideas that promote a free society. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Traditional Governance Systems - Participedia It also develops a theoretical framework for the . 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. Phillips Exeter Dining Hall Menu, Orange County Ny Pistol Permit Judges, Articles F