Mediating Legitimacy: Chieftaincy and Democratisation in Two African Chiefdoms

Mediating Legitimacy: Chieftaincy and Democratisation in Two African Chiefdoms

Author: Jude Fokwang

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2009-02-15

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 9956716006

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This study analyses the effects of democratic transition in two African countries - Cameroon and South Africa - on chiefs and the institution of chieftainship. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the monograph explores the cultural and socio-political conditions that enabled chiefs to reinvent themselves in the new era of democratic politics despite their status as 'old political actors'. It explores the kinds of legitimacies claimed by chiefs in the new era and the responses of their subjects to such claims, particularly with respect to chiefs' involvement in national politics. The monograph makes a case for the importance of comparative research on chiefs in the era of democracy and the predicaments they face therein. It contends that contrary to exhortations about the incompatibility of chiefs and democracy, the reality is that political transition in both South Africa and Cameroon produced contradictions, creating space and a role for chiefs in a fascinating and negotiated interplay of legitimacies and history.


Book Synopsis Mediating Legitimacy: Chieftaincy and Democratisation in Two African Chiefdoms by : Jude Fokwang

Download or read book Mediating Legitimacy: Chieftaincy and Democratisation in Two African Chiefdoms written by Jude Fokwang and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2009-02-15 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study analyses the effects of democratic transition in two African countries - Cameroon and South Africa - on chiefs and the institution of chieftainship. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the monograph explores the cultural and socio-political conditions that enabled chiefs to reinvent themselves in the new era of democratic politics despite their status as 'old political actors'. It explores the kinds of legitimacies claimed by chiefs in the new era and the responses of their subjects to such claims, particularly with respect to chiefs' involvement in national politics. The monograph makes a case for the importance of comparative research on chiefs in the era of democracy and the predicaments they face therein. It contends that contrary to exhortations about the incompatibility of chiefs and democracy, the reality is that political transition in both South Africa and Cameroon produced contradictions, creating space and a role for chiefs in a fascinating and negotiated interplay of legitimacies and history.


The Paradox of Traditional Chiefs in Democratic Africa

The Paradox of Traditional Chiefs in Democratic Africa

Author: Kate Baldwin

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1107127335

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book shows that powerful hereditary chiefs do not undermine democracy in Africa but, on some level, facilitate it.


Book Synopsis The Paradox of Traditional Chiefs in Democratic Africa by : Kate Baldwin

Download or read book The Paradox of Traditional Chiefs in Democratic Africa written by Kate Baldwin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows that powerful hereditary chiefs do not undermine democracy in Africa but, on some level, facilitate it.


Modernising Traditions and Traditionalising Modernity in Africa

Modernising Traditions and Traditionalising Modernity in Africa

Author: Nyamnjoh, Francis B.

Publisher: Langaa RPCIG

Published: 2015-09-23

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 9956762075

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Chieftaincy in Africa has displayed remarkable dynamics and adaptability to new socio-economic and political developments, without becoming totally transformed in the process. Almost everywhere on the continent, chiefdoms and chiefs have become active agents in the quest for ethnic, cultural symbols as a way of maximising opportunities at the centre of bureaucratic and state power, and at the home village where control over land and labour often require both financial and symbolic capital. Chieftaincy remains central to ongoing efforts at developing democracy and accountability in line with the expectations of Africans as individual 'citizens' and also as 'subjects' of various cultural communities. This book uses Cameroon and Botswana as case studies, to argue that the rigidity and prescriptiveness of modernist partial theories have left a major gap in scholarship on chiefs and chieftaincy in Africa. It stresses that studies of domesticated agency in Africa are sorely needed to capture the creative ongoing processes and to avoid over-emphasising structures and essentialist perceptions on chieftaincy and the cultural communities that claim and are claimed by it.


Book Synopsis Modernising Traditions and Traditionalising Modernity in Africa by : Nyamnjoh, Francis B.

Download or read book Modernising Traditions and Traditionalising Modernity in Africa written by Nyamnjoh, Francis B. and published by Langaa RPCIG. This book was released on 2015-09-23 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chieftaincy in Africa has displayed remarkable dynamics and adaptability to new socio-economic and political developments, without becoming totally transformed in the process. Almost everywhere on the continent, chiefdoms and chiefs have become active agents in the quest for ethnic, cultural symbols as a way of maximising opportunities at the centre of bureaucratic and state power, and at the home village where control over land and labour often require both financial and symbolic capital. Chieftaincy remains central to ongoing efforts at developing democracy and accountability in line with the expectations of Africans as individual 'citizens' and also as 'subjects' of various cultural communities. This book uses Cameroon and Botswana as case studies, to argue that the rigidity and prescriptiveness of modernist partial theories have left a major gap in scholarship on chiefs and chieftaincy in Africa. It stresses that studies of domesticated agency in Africa are sorely needed to capture the creative ongoing processes and to avoid over-emphasising structures and essentialist perceptions on chieftaincy and the cultural communities that claim and are claimed by it.


Challenging Authorities

Challenging Authorities

Author: Arne S. Steinforth

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 471

ISBN-13: 3030769240

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

When the notion of ‘alternative facts’ and the alleged dawning of a ‘postfactual’ world entered public discourse, social anthropologists found themselves in unexpectedly familiar territory. In theirempirical experience, fact—knowledge accepted as true—derives its salience from social mechanisms of legitimization, thereby demonstrating a deep interconnection with power and authority. In thisperspective, fact is a continually contested and volatile social category. Due to the specific histories of their colonial and post-independence experience, African societies offer a particularly broad array of insights into social processes of juxtaposition, opposition, and even outright competition between different postulated authorities. The contributions to the present volume explore the variety of ways in which authority is contested in Southern and Eastern Africa, investigating localized discourses on which institution, what kind of knowledge, or whose expertise is accepted as authoritative, thus highlighting the specificities and pluralities in ‘modern’ societies. This edited volume engages with larger theoretical questions regarding power and authority in the context of (post)colonial states (neo)traditional authority, claiming space, conflict and (in)justice, and contestations of knowledge. It offers in-depth critical analyses of ethnographic data that put contemporary African phenomena on equal footing with current controversies in North America, Europe, and other global settings.


Book Synopsis Challenging Authorities by : Arne S. Steinforth

Download or read book Challenging Authorities written by Arne S. Steinforth and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-09-20 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the notion of ‘alternative facts’ and the alleged dawning of a ‘postfactual’ world entered public discourse, social anthropologists found themselves in unexpectedly familiar territory. In theirempirical experience, fact—knowledge accepted as true—derives its salience from social mechanisms of legitimization, thereby demonstrating a deep interconnection with power and authority. In thisperspective, fact is a continually contested and volatile social category. Due to the specific histories of their colonial and post-independence experience, African societies offer a particularly broad array of insights into social processes of juxtaposition, opposition, and even outright competition between different postulated authorities. The contributions to the present volume explore the variety of ways in which authority is contested in Southern and Eastern Africa, investigating localized discourses on which institution, what kind of knowledge, or whose expertise is accepted as authoritative, thus highlighting the specificities and pluralities in ‘modern’ societies. This edited volume engages with larger theoretical questions regarding power and authority in the context of (post)colonial states (neo)traditional authority, claiming space, conflict and (in)justice, and contestations of knowledge. It offers in-depth critical analyses of ethnographic data that put contemporary African phenomena on equal footing with current controversies in North America, Europe, and other global settings.


The Constitution and Governance in Cameroon

The Constitution and Governance in Cameroon

Author: Laura-Stella E. Enonchong

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-10-18

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1351028847

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides a systematic analysis of the major structural and institutional governance mechanisms in Cameroon, critically analysing the constitutional and legislative texts on Cameroon’s semi-presidential system, the electoral system, the legislature, the judiciary, the Constitutional Council and the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms. The author offers an assessment of the practical application of the laws regulating constitutional institutions and how they impact on governance. To lay the groundwork for the analysis, the book examines the historical, constitutional and political context of governance in Cameroon, from independence and reunification in 1960–1961, through the adoption of the 1996 Constitution, to more recent events including the current Anglophone crisis. Offering novel insights on new institutions such as the Senate and the Constitutional Council and their contribution to the democratic advancement of Cameroon, the book also provides the first critical assessment of the legislative provisions carving out a special autonomy status for the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon and considers how far these provisions go to resolve the Anglophone Problem. This book will be of interest to scholars of public law, legal history and African politics. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351028868, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license


Book Synopsis The Constitution and Governance in Cameroon by : Laura-Stella E. Enonchong

Download or read book The Constitution and Governance in Cameroon written by Laura-Stella E. Enonchong and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-18 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a systematic analysis of the major structural and institutional governance mechanisms in Cameroon, critically analysing the constitutional and legislative texts on Cameroon’s semi-presidential system, the electoral system, the legislature, the judiciary, the Constitutional Council and the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms. The author offers an assessment of the practical application of the laws regulating constitutional institutions and how they impact on governance. To lay the groundwork for the analysis, the book examines the historical, constitutional and political context of governance in Cameroon, from independence and reunification in 1960–1961, through the adoption of the 1996 Constitution, to more recent events including the current Anglophone crisis. Offering novel insights on new institutions such as the Senate and the Constitutional Council and their contribution to the democratic advancement of Cameroon, the book also provides the first critical assessment of the legislative provisions carving out a special autonomy status for the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon and considers how far these provisions go to resolve the Anglophone Problem. This book will be of interest to scholars of public law, legal history and African politics. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351028868, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license


Complex Adaptive Systems, Resilience and Security in Cameroon

Complex Adaptive Systems, Resilience and Security in Cameroon

Author: Manu Lekunze

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-29

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1000020215

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Complex Adaptive Systems, Resilience and Security in Cameroon comprehensively maps and analyses Cameroon’s security architecture to determine its resilience. The author examines the key actors involved in Cameroon’s security and evaluates the organisational structures, before analysing the different security systems that arise from the interplay between the two. He also shows how these security networks can be better conceived as complex adaptive systems, interdependent on other environmental, economic and societal systems. In this regard, security actors become security agents. Finally, arguing that security should be pursed from a resilience perspective, this book seeks to comment on the contemporary situation in Cameroon and its possible trajectory for the future. Providing a timely assessment of security in Cameroon, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of African politics and Security Studies.


Book Synopsis Complex Adaptive Systems, Resilience and Security in Cameroon by : Manu Lekunze

Download or read book Complex Adaptive Systems, Resilience and Security in Cameroon written by Manu Lekunze and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-29 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complex Adaptive Systems, Resilience and Security in Cameroon comprehensively maps and analyses Cameroon’s security architecture to determine its resilience. The author examines the key actors involved in Cameroon’s security and evaluates the organisational structures, before analysing the different security systems that arise from the interplay between the two. He also shows how these security networks can be better conceived as complex adaptive systems, interdependent on other environmental, economic and societal systems. In this regard, security actors become security agents. Finally, arguing that security should be pursed from a resilience perspective, this book seeks to comment on the contemporary situation in Cameroon and its possible trajectory for the future. Providing a timely assessment of security in Cameroon, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of African politics and Security Studies.


The Politics of Custom

The Politics of Custom

Author: John L. Comaroff

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2018-03-08

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 022651093X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Includes bibliographical references and index.


Book Synopsis The Politics of Custom by : John L. Comaroff

Download or read book The Politics of Custom written by John L. Comaroff and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2018-03-08 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes bibliographical references and index.


Fons of “Traditional Bamenda” and Partisan Politics in Contemporary Cameroon

Fons of “Traditional Bamenda” and Partisan Politics in Contemporary Cameroon

Author: Tatah Mbuy

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2023-09-30

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 1957296135

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Fons of Traditional Bamenda, Tatah Mbuy critically examines the predicament of traditional leaders in the Cameroon Grasslands in the wake of the civil unrest that has regrettably evolved into armed conflict in the territories that constituted the former Southern Cameroons. Drawing on his ethnographic knowledge of this region, Mbuy argues that chieftaincy in the Grasslands was historically perceived as a sacred institution, the locus of neutrality and justice and the custodian of its people’s cultural legacy. However, multiparty politics and bureaucratic elites have coopted traditional leaders to serve party interests to the detriment of their people, thus attracting widespread condemnation and violence towards their persons. Mbuy convincingly argues that the Fon should not be an active element in partisan or competitive politics. All civil administrators in any Fondom in “traditional Bamenda” would gain more if they are conscious of the cultural structure and adherence of the people. As a source of neutrality, Fons stand to serve their people and society should they steer clear of partisan politics. This text is highly recommended to all concerned citizens, students of history, anthropology, political science and civil administrators in Cameroon and beyond.


Book Synopsis Fons of “Traditional Bamenda” and Partisan Politics in Contemporary Cameroon by : Tatah Mbuy

Download or read book Fons of “Traditional Bamenda” and Partisan Politics in Contemporary Cameroon written by Tatah Mbuy and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2023-09-30 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Fons of Traditional Bamenda, Tatah Mbuy critically examines the predicament of traditional leaders in the Cameroon Grasslands in the wake of the civil unrest that has regrettably evolved into armed conflict in the territories that constituted the former Southern Cameroons. Drawing on his ethnographic knowledge of this region, Mbuy argues that chieftaincy in the Grasslands was historically perceived as a sacred institution, the locus of neutrality and justice and the custodian of its people’s cultural legacy. However, multiparty politics and bureaucratic elites have coopted traditional leaders to serve party interests to the detriment of their people, thus attracting widespread condemnation and violence towards their persons. Mbuy convincingly argues that the Fon should not be an active element in partisan or competitive politics. All civil administrators in any Fondom in “traditional Bamenda” would gain more if they are conscious of the cultural structure and adherence of the people. As a source of neutrality, Fons stand to serve their people and society should they steer clear of partisan politics. This text is highly recommended to all concerned citizens, students of history, anthropology, political science and civil administrators in Cameroon and beyond.


Land Politics

Land Politics

Author: Lauren Honig

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-08-25

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 1009123408

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides new insight into the high-stakes struggle to control land in the Global South through the lens of land titling in Zambia and Senegal. Based on extensive fieldwork, it shows how chiefs and communities challenge the state, in an era of increasing scarcity and booming global land markets.


Book Synopsis Land Politics by : Lauren Honig

Download or read book Land Politics written by Lauren Honig and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-08-25 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides new insight into the high-stakes struggle to control land in the Global South through the lens of land titling in Zambia and Senegal. Based on extensive fieldwork, it shows how chiefs and communities challenge the state, in an era of increasing scarcity and booming global land markets.


Road Companion to Democracy and Meritocracy

Road Companion to Democracy and Meritocracy

Author: B. Tangwa

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2010-08-26

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9956578371

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Each of the essays in this book is marked by a certain simplicity and clarity, a seriousness tinged with humour, masking a profundity that are unmistakably characteristic of Godfrey B. Tangwa alias Rodcod Gobata, one of the leading critical minds amongst Cameroonians. The essays are centred on the theme of democracy and meritocracy which the author believes to be the pre-conditions for genuine development in Africa. The immediate focus of these essays is Cameroon, a country remarkable for experimenting with French/English bilingualism and for having a political dictatorship which claims, wrongly or rightly, to have transformed itself into a democracy; but they are equally relevant to other countries in Africa and beyond. Each of the essays stands alone but they are all telling various aspects of the same story from various angles at various times using different modes of expression. Anyone who seeks a glimpse of understanding of the trouble with Africa and particularly with Cameroon, 10 years into the 21st century, would read this book with great profit.


Book Synopsis Road Companion to Democracy and Meritocracy by : B. Tangwa

Download or read book Road Companion to Democracy and Meritocracy written by B. Tangwa and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2010-08-26 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each of the essays in this book is marked by a certain simplicity and clarity, a seriousness tinged with humour, masking a profundity that are unmistakably characteristic of Godfrey B. Tangwa alias Rodcod Gobata, one of the leading critical minds amongst Cameroonians. The essays are centred on the theme of democracy and meritocracy which the author believes to be the pre-conditions for genuine development in Africa. The immediate focus of these essays is Cameroon, a country remarkable for experimenting with French/English bilingualism and for having a political dictatorship which claims, wrongly or rightly, to have transformed itself into a democracy; but they are equally relevant to other countries in Africa and beyond. Each of the essays stands alone but they are all telling various aspects of the same story from various angles at various times using different modes of expression. Anyone who seeks a glimpse of understanding of the trouble with Africa and particularly with Cameroon, 10 years into the 21st century, would read this book with great profit.