Relevance of - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

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of decentralized systems. This area of focus is designed to fill the existing gaps in our understanding of the nature and attributes of traditional institutions. The key research issues of this area of focus include: • A new typology of the characteristics of traditional institutions; • Main factors for the resilience of traditional institutions; • Gender relations in traditional institutions; and • The impacts of changes in land tenure systems on traditional institutions. (b) Identification of specific areas of contribution of traditional institutions: on the basis of their attributes, including their conflict-resolution and decision-making mechanisms, the second area of focus examines the relevance and dynamics of traditional institutions and the specific areas where they would make a significant contribution to Africa’s socio-economic development and democratic transformation. Among such areas are: • Advancing state-building; • Settling post-election conflicts; • Reconstitution of the state for accountable leadership; • Coordination of resources with social interests and expansion of public-service delivery; • Management of resource-based conflicts; and • Settling border conflicts. (c) Exploring mechanisms for optimal integration of African traditional institutions: the third area of focus attempts to chart a new vision on how to integrate traditional authorities, customary laws, and traditional political values into the modern governance structure. Among the research issues of this area of focus are: • Existing models of integration of traditional institutions; • Deficiencies of existing models; and • Characteristics of a holistic model. 28
3. The theoretical framework, as outlined in the concept paper, is appropriate. The theory on why traditional institutions can contribute to Africa’s socio-economic transformation is based on the following two propositions: (a) Political values and practices of the decentralized political systems largely converge with democratic values and are likely to enable these systems to contribute to democratic transformation. The most common political values of the decentralized systems include: • Decentralization of power; • Direct participation in decision-making; • Resolution of conflicts by narrowing differences; • Respect for dissent and protection of minority views and interests by fostering consensus on decisions; • Narrowing the gap between the rulers and the ruled through direct participation of all adult males in making and in enforcing rules and by shortening the term of service of office holders; and • Equitable access to land. (b) Chieftaincy systems have the potential to facilitate democratic transformation and economic development: chiefs, being part of the political élite, can be expected to have the tendency to advance self-interest at the expense of community interests. Chiefs, however, are not sovereign. They serve under the State although they obtain their position from their communities and not from the State. Under these conditions, whether or not chiefs promote community interests and democratic governance (Y) largely depends on a number of factors, including: • The nature of the state (Sn); • The level of democratic awareness of the population, which is influenced by the nature of traditional political values and level of education (Pa); • The mechanisms of accountability of the chieftaincy system (Ca); and • The administrative effectiveness of the sitting chief (Ce). The hypothesis on what determines the democratizing role of chiefs can be expressed as follows: Y = f (Sn, Pa, Ca, Ce) 29
Page 1: Economic Commission for Africa Rele
Page 4 and 5: Ordering information To order copie
Page 7 and 8: Preface A number of studies have af
Page 9 and 10: Introduction African countries are
Page 11 and 12: 1. Diversity and transformation of
Page 13 and 14: Despite centralization at the top,
Page 15 and 16: • Impact on decentralized systems
Page 17 and 18: have greater access to decision-mak
Page 19 and 20: • The hereditary nature of chieft
Page 21 and 22: despotic State, thereby betraying t
Page 23 and 24: Omissions of this nature have obscu
Page 25 and 26: therefore, we can expect to have al
Page 27 and 28: values, especially those of the con
Page 29 and 30: As post-election conflicts in many
Page 31 and 32: to commercial farmers and mining co
Page 33 and 34: system as well as similarities betw
Page 35: ANNEX I Relevance of African Tradit
Page 39 and 40: TRADITIONAL FORMS OF GOVERNMENT IN
Page 41 and 42: A chief who breaks his oath of offi
Page 43 and 44: At a recent international conferenc
Page 45 and 46: Among other things, the Declaration
Page 47 and 48: Ministries, departments, the Courts
Page 49 and 50: ANNEX III “Traditional Leadership
Page 51 and 52: focus on the actual track record of
Page 53 and 54: What’s troubling is the extent to
Page 55 and 56: context is the Memorandum of Unders
Page 57 and 58: Busia, K.A. The Position of the Chi
Page 59 and 60: Lawson, Letitia. “The House of Ch
Page 61: Skinner, Elliott P. “The ‘Parad

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