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). References: Blakemore and Cooksey (1980). The geography of South Africa is vast scrubland in the interior, the Namib Desert in the northwest, and tropics in the southeast. 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. Abstract. On the one hand, traditional institutions are highly relevant and indispensable, although there are arguments to the contrary (see Mengisteab & Hagg [2017] for a summary of such arguments). 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. They are well known, among others, for their advancement of an indigenous democratic process known as Gadaa. These include macro variables such as educational access (especially for women), climate change impact and mitigation, development and income growth rates, demographic trends, internet access, urbanization rates, and conflict events. 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. The debate is defined by "traditionalists" and "modernists." . A command economy, also known as a planned economy, is one in which the central government plans, organizes, and controls all economic activities to maximize social welfare. They must know the traditional songs and must also be able to improvise songs about current events and chance incidents. 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. A second objective is to draw a tentative typology of the different authority systems of Africas traditional institutions. One layer represents the formal institutions (laws) of the state. Each of these societies had a system of government. 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. Highlight 5 features of government. Large segments of the rural populations, the overwhelming majority in most African countries, continue to adhere principally to traditional institutions. (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. Changes in economic and political systems trigger the need for new institutional systems to manage the new economic and political systems, while endurance of economic and political systems foster durability of existing institutional systems. Democratic and dictatorial regimes both vest their authority in one person or a few individuals. However, almost invariably the same functions, whether or not formally defined and characterized in the same terms or exercised in the same manner, are also performed by traditional institutions and their leaders. The cases of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Sudan suggest that each case must be assessed on its own merits. Consequently, national and regional governance factors interact continuously. 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. Towards a Definition of Government 1.3. The leaders in this system have significant powers, as they often are custodians of their communitys land and they dispense justice in their courts. 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). By 2016, 35 AU members had joined it, but less than half actually subjected themselves to being assessed. Challenges confronting the institution of chieftaincy have continued from the colonial era into recent times. In Sierra Leone, paramount chiefs are community leaders and their tasks involve - among others - protecting community safety and resolving disputes. Ethiopias monarchy ended in 1974 while the other three remain, with only the king of Swaziland enjoying absolute power. In African-style democracy the rule of law is only applicable to ordinary people unconnected to the governing party leadership or leader. The system of government in the traditional Yoruba society was partially centralised and highly democratic. Such post-electoral pacts reflect the conclusion that stability is more important than democracy. 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. African Governance: Challenges and Their Implications. The quality and durability of such leader-defined adaptive resilience cannot be assured and can be reversed unless the associated norms become institutionalized. The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. The differences are in terms of how leaders come to assume their positions, how much power they command, and how accountable they are to their communities. 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. This kind of offences that attract capital punishment is usually . 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. 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at 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. Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. These include - murder, burglary, landcase, witchcraft, profaning the deities and homicide. Learn more about joining the community of supporters and scholars working together to advance Hoovers mission and values. They are the key players in providing judicial service and in conflict management in much of rural Africa. 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. 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. Evidence from case studies, however, suggests that the size of adherents varies from country to country. One can identify five bases of regime legitimacy in the African context today. African indigenous education was. Womens access to property rights is also limited, as they are often denied the right of access to inheritance as well as equal division of property in cases of divorce. Today, the five most common government systems include democracy, republic, monarchy, communism and . 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 countries are characterized by fragmentation of various aspects of their political economy, including their institutions of governance. The role of traditional leaders in modern Africa, especially in modern African democracies, is complex and multifaceted. The Aqils (elders) of Somalia and the chiefs in Kenya are good examples. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. 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. 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 place and role of African Youth in Pre-independence African Governance Systems 19-20 1.7. 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%. In some countries, such as Botswana, customary courts are estimated to handle approximately 80% of criminal cases and 90% of civil cases (Sharma, 2004). Africa contains more sovereign nations than any other continent, with 54 countries compared to Asia's 47. Less than 20% of Africa's states achieved statehood following rebellion or armed insurgency; in the others, independence flowed from . 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. 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. The earliest known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt . Council of elders: These systems essentially operate on consensual decision-making arrangements that vary from one place to another.