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African Politics: A Very Short Introduction explores how politics is practised on the African continent, providing an overview of the different states and their systems. Other governance systems in the post-independence era and their unique features, if any. In any case, as . Seeming preference for Democracy in Africa over other governance systems in Africa before and after independence 15-17 1.5. 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? Democracy, Monarchy and Dictatorship: Types of Government Systems They include: Monarchs (absolute or constitutional): While the colonial state reduced most African kings to chiefs, a few survived as monarchs. 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. 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. 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). Finally, the chapter considers the future of the institution against the background of the many issues and challenges considered. Misguided policies at the national level combined with cultural constraints facing these social groups may increase exclusion and create seeds of future trouble. Government: A Multifarious Concept 1.2. 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. Features of Yoruba Pre colonial Administration - Bscholarly To learn more, visit 14 L.A. Ayinla 'African Philosophy of Law: A Critique' 151, available at 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. Chiefs administer land and people, contribute to the creation of rules that regulate the lives of those under their jurisdiction, and are called on to solve disputes among their subjects. Additionally, the Guurti is charged with resolving conflicts in the country using traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. Invented chiefs and state-paid elders: These were chiefs imposed by the colonial state on decentralized communities without centralized authority systems. Greater access to public services and to productivity-enhancing technology would also help in enhancing the transformation of the subsistence sector. South Africa has a mixed economy in which there is a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic . 1995 focuses on social, economic, and intellectual trends up to the end of the colonial era. African conflict trends point to a complex picture, made more so by the differing methodologies used by different research groups. Pre-colonial Administration of the Yorubas. The question then becomes, how to be inclusive?19 A number of African states have decentralized their political decision-making systems and moved to share or delegate authority from the center to provincial or local levels. PDF The Political Ideology of Indigenous African Political Systems and PDF Development of African Administration: Pre-Colonial Times and since - EOLSS 2007 Relevance of African Traditional Institutions of Governance The colonial state modified their precolonial roles. Afrocentrism | Definition, Examples, History, Beliefs, & Facts Traditional African religions are not stagnant but highly dynamic and constantly reacting to various shifting influences such as old age, modernity, and technological advances. Rather, they are conveners of assemblies of elders or lower level chiefs who deliberate on settlement of disputes. PDF African Traditional Justice Systems Francis Kariuki* 1.1 Introduction African political systems are described in a number of textbooks and general books on African history. However, their endurance, along with that of traditional economic systems, have fostered institutional fragmentation, which has serious adverse effects on Africas governance and economic development. This section attempts to explain these seemingly contradictory implications of traditional institutions. It may be good to note, as a preliminary, that African political systems of the past dis played considerable variety. These consisted of monarchy, aristocracy and polity. First, many of the conflicts enumerated take place within a limited number of conflict-affected countries and in clearly-defined geographic zones (the Sahel and Nigeria; Central Africa; and the Horn.) (PDF) The role and significance of traditional leadership in the PDF Structure of Government - EOLSS The third section deals with the post-colonial period and discusses some problems associated with African administration. Most of the states that had attempted to abolish chieftaincy have retracted the abolitionist decrees and reinstated chiefs. . A related reason for their relevance is that traditional institutions, unlike the state, provide rural communities the platform to participate directly in their own governance. 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. 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). In Africa, as in every region, it is the quality and characteristics of governance that shape the level of peace and stability and the prospects for economic development. A third, less often recognized base of legitimacy can be called conventional African diplomatic legitimacy wherein a governmenthowever imperfectly establishedis no more imperfect than the standard established by its regional neighbors. Traditional African Religions - The Spiritual Life A long-term route to political and economic success has been comprehensively documented by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in their global study of why nations fail or succeed. Governance also has an important regional dimension relating to the institutional structures and norms that guide a regions approach to challenges and that help shape its political culture.1 This is especially relevant in looking at Africas place in the emerging world since this large region consists of 54 statesclose to 25% of the U.N.s membershipand includes the largest number of landlocked states of any region, factors that dramatically affect the political environment in which leaders make choices. Aristotle was the first to define three principal types of government systems in the fourth century B.C. 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 terms Afrocentrism, Afrocology, and Afrocentricity were coined in the 1980s by the African American scholar and activist Molefi Asante. 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. 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. 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. 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. Paramount chieftaincy as a system of local government An election bound to be held in the year 2019 will unveil the new . Another common feature is the involvement of traditional authorities in the governance process, at least at the local level. 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. 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. The reasons why rural communities adhere to the traditional institutions are many (Logan, 2011; Mengisteab & Hagg, 2017). The African Charter: A Printed Futility or a Reflection of Human Rights Many other countries have non-centralized elder-based traditional institutions. By the mid-1970s, the military held power in one-third of the nations of sub-Saharan Africa. No doubt rural communities participate in elections, although they are hardly represented in national assemblies by people from their own socioeconomic space. 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. The problems that face African governments are universal. Strictly speaking, Ghana was the title of the King, but the Arabs, who left records . There were several reasons for such measures. Its marginalization, in turn, impedes the transformation of the traditional sector, thus extending the fragmentation of institutions. 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. 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). Almost at a stroke, the relationships between African governments and the major powers and major sources of concessional finance were upended, while political liberalization in the former Soviet bloc helped to trigger global political shock waves. The structures of leadership of African traditional institutions are diverse and they have yet to be mapped out comprehensively. 2. the system even after independence. Institutional dichotomy also seems to be a characteristic of transitional societies, which are between modes of production. Indigenous African Education - 2392 Words | Studymode The traditional justice system, thus, does not have the power to grant any rights beyond the local level. 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. Regional governance comes into play here, and certain precedents may get set and then ratified by regional or sub-regional organizations. It assigned them new roles while stripping away some of their traditional roles. 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. Both can be identified as forms of governance. Module Ten, Activity Two - Exploring Africa Although considerable differences exist among the various systems, opportunities for women to participate in decision making in most traditional systems are generally limited. The debate is defined by "traditionalists" and "modernists." . 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. Obstruction of nation-building: Nation-building entails a process of integrating different segments of the citizenry to form a community of citizens under shared institutions. With the dawn of colonialism in Africa, the traditional African government was sys-tematically weakened, and the strong and influential bond between traditional lead- . States would be more effective in reforming the traditional judicial system if they recognized them rather than neglecting them, as often is the case. Africas economic systems range from a modestly advanced capitalist system, symbolized by modern banking and stock markets, to traditional economic systems, represented by subsistent peasant and pastoral systems. African Style Democracy? - Public Seminar The express prohibition in the African Charter against discrimination according to ethnic group constitutes a major step for the continent as a whole because the realization of this right will lead to greater economic opportunity for those people not of the same kinship as the head of government. There are several types of government systems in African politics: in an absolute monarchy, the head of state and head of government is a monarch with unlimited legal authority,; in a constitutional monarchy, the monarch is a ceremonial figurehead who has few political competences,; in a presidential system, the president is the head of state and head of government, Abstract. It considers the nature of the state in sub-Saharan Africa and why its state structures are generally weaker than elsewhere in the world. With respect to their relevance, traditional institutions remain indispensable for several reasons. By 2016, 35 AU members had joined it, but less than half actually subjected themselves to being assessed. Rule that is based on predation and political monopoly is unlikely to enjoy genuine popular legitimacy, but it can linger for decades unless there are effective countervailing institutions and power centers. This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in. The Role and Significance of Traditional Leadership in South African Second, the levels of direct battle deaths from these events is relatively low when compared with far higher levels in the wars of the Middle East. Traditional African religions are less of faith traditions and more of lived traditions. 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). 1. Executive, legislative, and judicial functions are generally attributed by most modern African constitutions to presidents and prime ministers, parliaments, and modern judiciaries. Yet political stability cannot be based on state power alone, except in the short run. The Boundaries of Tradition: An Examination of the Traditional However, there are customs and various arrangements that restrain their power. Among the attributes of the traditional system with such potential is the systems transparent and participatory process of resolving conflicts, which takes place in open public meetings. 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 20 th century. 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). 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. Broadly speaking, indigenous systems of governance are those that were practiced by local populations in pre-colonial times. Customary law, for example, does not protect communities from violations of their customary land rights through land-taking by the state. 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. In some cases, community elders select future Sultanes at a young age and groom them for the position. The parallel institutional systems often complement each other in the continents contemporary governance. The council system of the Berbers in Northern Africa also falls within this category (UNECA, 2007).