Traditional Leaders and Development in Africa

Abstract

Traditional leaders have a significant role in the social, political, and economic lives of citizens in countries throughout Africa. They are defined as local elites who derive legitimacy from custom, tradition, and spirituality. While their claims to authority are local, traditional leaders, or “chiefs,” are also integrated into the modern state in a variety of ways. The position of traditional leaders between state and local communities allows them to function as development intermediaries. They do so by influencing the distribution of national public goods and the representation of citizen demands to the state. Further, traditional leaders can impact development by coordinating local collective action, adjudicating conflicts, and overseeing land rights. In the role of development intermediaries, traditional leaders shape who benefits from different types of development outcomes within the local and national community. Identifying the positive and negative developmental impacts of traditional leaders requires attention to the different implications of their roles as lobbyists, local governments, political patrons, and land authorities.

The Impact of Elite Farmers on Cocoa Pests and Diseases in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire

“…This influence and respect might be translated to local elites' disproportionate access to public resources through building networks with state officials (Wong, 2010). Hence, the position of local elites as intermediaries between state and local communities helps influence the distribution of national public goods (Honig, 2019). Also, elites having political authority in rural communities can translate to resource capture (see Beekman et al, 2013), hence unequal access to public resources between elites and non-elites in Ghana, as found in this study.…”

Configuring political relationships to navigate host-country institutional complexity: Insights from Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa

“…Importantly, Scott's regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive continuum provides a strong theoretical basis for understanding institutional complexity in sub-Saharan Africa. Importantly, socio-cultural institutional structures in many SSA societies confer absolute authority on institutional leaders whose legitimacy is derived from customs, traditions, and spirituality (Honig, 2019;Mbalyohere & Lawton, 2018;Tieleman & Uitermark, 2019). Hence, leaders of both formal and informal political institutions can greatly influence the behavior of individuals and organizations and exercise unfettered power over resource allocation.…”

“…Cheeseman, Kanyinga and Lynch (2020) highlight the central role of traditional chiefs in Kenya's state bureaucracy by virtue of their positions in provincial administrations, allowing them to be deeply involved in (1) implementing national policies and enforcing law and order, (2) mobilizing political support, and (3) linking the government with its citizens. Similarly, there is strong adherence to the norms of religious organizations, the dominant ones being traditional African religions, Christianity, and Islam, with religious norms and teachings influencing the attitudes, thoughts, and actions of individuals and organizations (Awedoba, 2002;Honig, 2019).…”

“…A broader consultation with traditional and religious leaders who have close interaction with the people they lead might be an effective way to court public cooperation in the implementation of anti-COVID-19 measures'' (Sanny & Asiamah, 2020: 1). In addition, Honig (2019) argues that besides having great local influence, traditional chiefs function as development intermediaries between national governments and local communities. Thus, connecting with one type of political actor means connecting with others.…”

“…This is documented by Omobowale and Omobowale's (2019) study of informal markets in Ibadan (Nigeria), which shows how access and retention of market space is facilitated by the support of local chiefs and queens. Additionally, ties with both local chieftains and religious leaders can generate normative and cultural-cognitive political capital because they are entrusted with protecting the morality, customs, traditions, and spirituality of society and hence their recommendation can provide legitimacy to the subsidiary's brands (Honig, 2019;Kavas, Jarzabkowski, & Nigam, 2020). Thus, these multiple connections among regulatory, normative, and cultural-cognitive political resources may constitute a causally ambiguous firm-specific advantage which competitors may find difficult to imitate because it is socially complex.…”