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. 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. Some regimes seem resilient because of their apparent staying power but actually have a narrow base of (typically ethnic or regional) support. Yet, governments are expected to govern and make decisions after consulting relevant stakeholders. The same factors that hinder nation-building hinder democratization. Highlight 5 features of government. Non-official institutions and civil society may have very different ideas from the national government on this issue, leading to debates about legitimacy. 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. 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 scope of the article is limited to an attempt to explain how the endurance of African traditional institutions is related to the continents economic systems and to shed light on the implications of fragmented institutional systems. The laws and legal systems of Africa have developed from three distinct legal traditions: traditional or customary African law, Islamic law, and the legal systems of Western Europe. Located on the campus of Stanford University and in Washington, DC, the Hoover Institution is the nations preeminent research center dedicated to generating policy ideas that promote economic prosperity, national security, and democratic governance. Each of these societies had a system of government. 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 formal institutions of checks and balances and accountability of leaders to the population are rather weak in this system. West Africa has a long and complex history. 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. 1. f Basic Features cont. Somalilands strategy has brought traditional leaders into an active role in the countrys formal governance by creating an upper house in parliament, the Guurti, where traditional leaders exercise the power of approving all bills drafted by the lower house of parliament. They include: Monarchs (absolute or constitutional): While the colonial state reduced most African kings to chiefs, a few survived as monarchs. 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. His dramatic tenure since April of 2018 appears to be shaking up the states creaky authoritarian services and creating the space for important adaptations such as ending a long-standing state of emergency, freeing political prisoners, reaching out to a wide range of foreign partners, and extending the olive branch to Eritrea with whom Ethiopia had fought a costly war. Both can be identified as forms of governance. 2. By Sulayman Sanneh Date: September 10th, 2021. fIntroduction Africa is a vast and . It is too soon to tell whether such institutions can evolve in modern Africa as a result of gradual tinkering with reformist agendas, as the legacy of wise leaders; or whether they will only happen as a result of fundamental tests of strength between social and political groups. 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. The key . This article contends that postcolonial African traditional institutions lie in a continuum between the highly decentralized to the centralized systems and they all have resource allocation practices, conflict resolution and judicial systems, and decision-making practices, which are distinct from those of the state. In Module Seven A: African History, you explored the histories of a wide diversity of pre-colonial African societies. Traditional governments have the following functions; On the opposite side are the decentralized systems, led by a council of elders, that command little formal power. However, the traditional judicial system has some weaknesses, especially with respect to gender equality. In this respect, they complement official courts that are often unable to provide court services to all their rural communities. Regardless, fragmentation of institutional systems poses a number of serious challenges to Africas governance and economic development. History. 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. 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. In most African countries, constitutionally established authorities exercise the power of government alongside traditional authorities. 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. Yet, the traditional judicial system in most cases operates outside of the states institutional framework. Political leaders everywhere face competing demands in this regard. The traditional justice system, thus, does not have the power to grant any rights beyond the local level. Hoover scholars form the Institutions core and create breakthrough ideas aligned with our mission and ideals. The Constitution states that the institution, status and roles of traditional leadership, according to customary law, are recognised. A second argument is that traditional institutions are hindrances to the development of democratic governance (Mamdani, 1996; Ntsebeza, 2005). Countries such as Burkina Faso, Guinea, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, for example, attempted to strip chiefs of most of their authority or even abolish chieftaincy altogether. While this seems obvious, it is less clear what vectors and drivers will have the most weight in shaping that outcome. Wise leadership respects ethnic diversity and works toward inclusive policies. South Africas strategy revolves around recognition of customary law when it does not conflict with the constitution and involves traditional authorities in local governance. Additionally, the transaction costs for services provided by the traditional institutions are much lower than the services provided by the state. Oftentimes, however, they contradict each other, creating problems associated with institutional incoherence. 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). 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. example of a traditional African political system. 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). 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. In African-style democracy the rule of law is only applicable to ordinary people unconnected to the governing party leadership or leader. Still another form of legitimacy in Africa sometimes derives from traditional political systems based on some form of kingship. 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. The endurance of traditional institutions entails complex and paradoxical implications for contemporary Africas governance. Chieftaincy is further plagued with its own internal problems, including issues of relevance, succession, patriarchy, jurisdiction, corruption and intra-tribal conflict. In the postcolonial era, their roles changed again. By the mid-1970s, the military held power in one-third of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. Today, the five most common government systems include democracy, republic, monarchy, communism and . The abolishment of chieftaincy does not eradicate the systems broader underlying features, such as customary law, decision-making systems, and conflict resolution practices. Examine the definitions, strengths, and weaknesses of several common governments: monarchy, theocracy . Problems and Purpose. Traditional institutions already adjudicate undisclosed but large proportions of rural disputes. Aristotle was the first to define three principal types of government systems in the fourth century B.C. This enhanced his authority. In addition, resolution needs to be acceptable to all parties. 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 third objective is to examine the relevance of traditional institutions. The Sultanes of Somalia are examples of this category and the community has specific criteria as to who is qualified to be a chief (Ahmed, 2017). 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. The Obas and Caliphs of Nigeria and the Zulu of South Africa are other examples. 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).
