Traditional institutions in Africa: past and present

Political Science Research and Methods • Vol/Iss. 12 • Cambridge University Press • • Published In • Pages: 267-284 •
By Neupert-Wentz, Clara, Muller-Crepon, Carl

Abstract

In this article, the authors seek to understand the trajectory of traditional political institutions in Africa and ask how these institutions have changed, if at all, due to colonial interference. They note that "institutions connect the past with the present", though the study of political institutions over time is often overlooked in discussions of institutional persistence and change despite their value to key components of governance and social stability. Thus, these authors investigate whether today's African institutions remain akin to their precolonial, institutional ancestors, and whether colonial governance strategies of indirect or direct rule employed by the British and French have impacted their persistence. They find evidence to support the endurance of traditional institutions in former British colonies (upward trend), whereas evidence for institutional destruction for former French colonies (downward trend).

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Ethnographic Atlas (EA)Other Researchers'Authors use the Linking Ethnic Groups in Africa project's (Muller-Crepon et al.,2022) framework to perform ethnic matching between the two samples used.
Traditional Governance Groups DatasetOther Researchers'"global online expert survey on ethnic groups' traditional institutions, their leaders, and functions"

Hypotheses (2)

HypothesisSupported
The extent to which traditional African governance institutions contemporarily resemble their precolonial predecessors is positively correlated with the presence of indirect, colonial rule and negatively correlated with the presence of direct, colonial rule. Supported
Current levels of political hierarchy are correlated with past levels of political hierarchy.Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jsheit20