State politics and the customary power of chiefs

CHIEFTAINCY in Africa is shaped by developmental visions of the State, the political interests of the ruling elites and contested versions of customary law.

This makes it difficult to analyse chieftaincy as a static institution that is either independently acting to undermine decentralised democracy or progressive in preserving authentic customary role of representation.

It is, therefore, imperative to analyse the actual functioning of States and chiefs for appropriate policy positioning.

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