Explaining Variation in Levels of Public (Dis)trust in Traditional Leaders: Colonial Ruling Strategies and Contemporary Roles in Governance

Zimbalist, Zack

doi:10.1017/gov.2020.9

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…It was also revealed that traditional monarchs' power appears to have diminished since the country's transition to democracy and post-independence administration. Traditional institutions continue to be an important part of the population, commanding a high degree of loyalty and respect from them and acting as an unconstitutional authority and force to be reckoned with because there still seems to be a strong affinity among indigenous people for traditional rulers despite their lack of constitutional authority to govern (Zimbalist, 2021).…”

Section: Literature Review Roles Of Traditional Administrative System...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional Administrative System and Community Development in Nigeria: Roles and Relevance of Traditional Institution in Local Community Development

Olawoyin

2023

ORCADEV

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Recently, the 1999 Nigerian constitution has been unavoidably silent on specific roles for traditional rulers in the country. Thus, traditional institutions play a crucial part in policy development and implementation in the country. Consequently, the lack of constitutional roles for traditional institutions severely limited their utility at the grassroots. The study assesses the roles of the traditional administrative system of selected communities in Osun State towards the integration of traditional core values into mainstream administration in Nigeria and also assesses the relevance of traditional institutions in managing inherent conflicts of the selected communities in Osun State. The study engaged qualitative research through key informant interviews and in-depth interviews. The findings showed that traditional institutions in Nigeria play active roles in the development process in the country. Despite their difficulty, the roles were more visible in cultural dissemination and managing conflicts in the local communities. The study concluded that the traditional administrative system and structure had influenced community development in the southwest region immensely but are limited in function and operation largely by the absence of roles in the Nigeria constitution.

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Section: Literature Review Roles Of Traditional Administrative System...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional Administrative System and Community Development in Nigeria: Roles and Relevance of Traditional Institution in Local Community Development

Olawoyin

2023

ORCADEV

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“…Other work shows similar enduring colonial legacies on trust in traditional authorities (Lechler & McNamee 2018). Though classically studied as deriving from differences in French and British colonial rule (recently, Zimbalist 2021), others locate structural divergences in traditional authority strength in within-colony variation in the construction of the chieftaincy. Thus, Nathan (2019) shows that chieftaincies that were invented by the British in Northern Ghana perform worse than chieftaincies that pre-dated colonial rule.…”

Section: A Resurgent Interest In the Role Of Chiefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Judge, landlord, broker, watchman: assessing variation in chiefly duties and authority in the Ghana–Togo Borderlands

Wilfahrt,

Letsa

2023

J. Mod. Afr. Stud.

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This paper seeks to broaden the framework for understanding the many different roles that traditional leaders play in their communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Using data from an original public opinion survey along the Ghana–Togo border, we find that one of the most important roles of the chieftaincy is to maintain law and order: resolving disputes and keeping the community safe from crime. However, we also find considerable variation in what chiefs are expected to do, how effective they are performing their various tasks, and how much authority they wield in doing so – both over their own subjects as well as over local government officials. We explore several potential sources for this variation, finding that chiefs in Ghana, a former British colony, are expected to do more jobs, are perceived to be more effective, and hold more upward power over local state officials compared with their counterparts in Togo, a former French colony.

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“…However, the incorporation between modern government and traditional power was met with an uneasy negotiation; the merger necessitated several clashes and conflicts (Goodfellow & Lindemann, 2013). It was found that traditional societies trusted the position of traditional elites for life-related decisions as opposed to modern governments (Zimbalist, 2021).…”

Section: State and Traditional Power In Indonesiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Delegitimisation of Indonesian Traditional Leaders: An Analysis in Minangkabau, West Sumatra Province

Asrinaldi

2022

Politika

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It is argued that an excessive euphoria of autonomy was the primary consequence of the first five years of decentralisation in Indonesia after the New Order. The euphoria of autonomy led to the emergence of ethnic nationalism perpetuated by traditional powers that regulated the control and exploitation of natural resources. The New Order government tried to control local democratic practices by weakening traditional leaders' legitimacy. This article explains how this reality occurs in West Sumatra Province. First, based on village and regional government laws following the New Order, local democracy led to the delegitimisation of traditional power. Second, the systematic implementation of local democracy erased the traditional leadership authority that relegated the Minangkabau ethnic and traditional values. It was concluded that the government enacted the local government and village laws to regulate the traditional authority.

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Explaining Variation in Levels of Public (Dis)trust in Traditional Leaders: Colonial Ruling Strategies and Contemporary Roles in Governance

Cited by 3 publications

References 46 publications

Traditional Administrative System and Community Development in Nigeria: Roles and Relevance of Traditional Institution in Local Community Development

Traditional Administrative System and Community Development in Nigeria: Roles and Relevance of Traditional Institution in Local Community Development

Judge, landlord, broker, watchman: assessing variation in chiefly duties and authority in the Ghana–Togo Borderlands

Delegitimisation of Indonesian Traditional Leaders: An Analysis in Minangkabau, West Sumatra Province

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