Vom administrativen zum konkurrenziellen Häuptlingtum – Anmerkungen zur Legitimität und Transformation neotraditionaler Herrschaft in Namibia und KwaZulu-Natal, Südafrika

Krämer, Mario

doi:10.3790/soc.59.2.173

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…: 54). On the one hand, the headman became part and parcel of ‘administrative chieftaincy’ (Krämer 2009; Trotha 1996), but on the other hand, he also defended local interests, led the resistance to Topnaar displacement from the Kuiseb and could enhance his local acceptance. Eventually, Esau Kooitjie succeeded in leading the resistance: the resettlement attempt was discarded and the Topnaar have continued to live in the Kuiseb area until the present (Kößler 2006: 94–6).…”

Section: The Topnaar Traditional Authoritymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coyle (2018) shows that, in contemporary Ghana, it results in local uprisings and some ‘fallen chiefs’ have had to flee their chiefdoms. This does not mean, however, that protesters necessarily aim to dispose of the institution as such: several authors (see Krämer 2009; Nyamnjoh 2015; Oomen 2005; Turner 2014) argue that people in general distinguish between the institution of neotraditional leadership on the one hand and a particular incumbent on the other – and because ‘bad apples’ can be removed from office, local citizens often try to modify or reanimate neotraditional authority rather than to discard it entirely.…”

Section: The Triangle Of Tradition Capital and The Statementioning

confidence: 99%

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Neotraditional authority contested: the corporatization of tradition and the quest for democracy in the Topnaar Traditional Authority, Namibia

Krämer¹

2020

Africa

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This article examines two closely related themes: the triangle of tradition, capital and the state; and resistance to neotraditional leadership and local activism for democracy. I investigate an uprising in the Topnaar Traditional Authority in the Erongo region of Namibia by young community activists who aimed to promote democracy in their community in a context of manifold accusations of self-enrichment and corruption against the neotraditional leadership. The article demonstrates that the corporatization of tradition is a double-edged sword: neotraditional leaders expand their local power towards their subjects in the short term, but it often produces severe conflict that may result in the delegitimization of neotraditional authority in the long run. However, the Topnaar youth uprising and quest for democracy was less about challenging neotraditional authority per se and more about replacing the incumbents as well as obtaining a fair share of political power. It resulted from the perception that the neotraditional-cum-corporate ventures no longer served the cause of a common good; this, in turn, contradicted the general ideal of equality among the Topnaar. The corporatization of tradition thus generated local grievances and stimulated demands for democratic participation. Since the uprising gained at least some of its momentum from my research on neotraditional authority, I also reflect on my role.

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Section: The Topnaar Traditional Authoritymentioning

confidence: 99%