Traditional Structure and Local Governance for Development and State-Building

1. Traditional Structure and Local Governance for Development and State-Building Georg Lutz Wolf Linder University of Berne, Institute of Political Science

2. Part 1: Internal Governance and Traditional Power Structures

3. Preliminary remarks • Problems with decentralisation • Lack of resources (donors and states) • Ignorance of existing social and political structures, western approach of state- building • What are traditional structures? • pre-colonial period, historical continuity • However: often unclear what is tradition, what is more modern • Every society changes, so do traditional structures

4. Varieties in traditional structures • Two main important dimension • Degree of integration: how geographically and culturally integrated are traditional societies. • Minority/Majority position: Are traditional communities in a minority (e.g. in America) or majority position (e.g. Africa) • Tradition and modernity simultaneously

5. Important governance dimensions • Legitimacy • Social Inclusion • Human Rights, Rule of Law • Accountability, Responsiveness and Transparency • Conflict resolution and state-building

6. Legitimacy • Legitimacy is what people accept as legitimate • Democracies: constitutions/rule of law, elections • Traditional authorities: historical, hereditary, divine/religious • Co-existence of different authorities at the same time

7. Social Inclusion • Problematic in some ways • Inheritance of title does not allow changes in leadership • Women often excluded • Right of communities exclusive: do not apply to other groups • However • Traditional authorities transformable • Local governance often not inclusive either

8. Human Rights, Rule of Law • Possible conflict between human right and right of self-determination • Codification of legal pluralism • Acceptance of (non-codified) customary law? • When applies? • To whom does it apply to? • Can people choose? • Complexity depends on degree of integration

9. Conflict resolution and state-building • Traditional authorities may be more legitimate • + Recognition of traditional authorities can stabilize country and settle conflict • - Recognition can lead to further ethnic division and social exclusion

10. Part 2: Traditional power structures and local government

11. Arguments for stronger inclusion • Non-western approach for state-building • Better inclusion of local population • Acceptance of policy implementation • Traditional authorities as advocates for conflict resolution • Better responsiveness and legitimacy

12. Question marks • What is traditional? • How to deal with migration? • How to deal with simultaneous co-existence of tradition and modernity? • How to deal with competing legal systems? • How to deal with competing moralities? • Pluralistic power structure: the essence

13. Traditional structure separate

14. Traditional structure is local government

15. Traditional structure separate with clear role

16. Traditional authorities integrated at local level

17. Traditional structure participates in local development

18. Part 3:Contribution of traditional power structures to local development

19. Where to include traditional authorities?

20. When to include traditional authorities I • No single model for everywhere • Need for careful examination of the social political and economic structures at the local level • State • Level of decentralisation • Functions, Resources of local government, performance • Traditional authorities • „Tradition of traditional authorities“ • Role, legitimacy,transparency, responsiveness of traditional authority, social inclusion

21. When to include traditional authorities II

22. Changing structures, changing role • Any intervention and transformation changes the power structure of a society • Changing the role of traditional authorities changes their role within a local community as well