State recognition and democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa : a new dawn for traditional authorities? / edited by Lars Buur and Helene Maria Kyed.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Traditional Authority and Democratization in Africa / Helene Maria Kyed and Lars Buur -- Pt. I. Traditional Authorities and Decentralized Governance -- 1. Bringing the Sultan Back In: Elders as Peacemakers in Ethiopia's Somali Region / Tobias Hagmann -- 2. The Ambivalent Role of Chiefs: Rural Decentralization Initiatives in Malawi / Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza -- 3. Chiefs, Policing, and Vigilantes: "Cleaning Up" the Caprivi Borderland of Namibia / Wolfgang Zeller -- 4. Traditional Authority in Mozambique: The Legible Space between State and Community / Lars Buur and Helene Maria Kyed -- Pt. II. Traditional Authorities and State and Party Politics -- 5. Traditional Chieftaincy, Party Politics, and Political Violence in Burkina Faso / Sten Hagberg -- 6. From Pastoral to State Politics: Traditional Authorities in Northern Somalia / Markus V. Hohne -- 7. Traditional Authority: Accountability and Governance in Zimbabwe / Everisto Mapedza -- 8. "Now we are a Town": Chiefs, Investors, and the State in Zambia's Western Province / Wolfgang Zeller.

"This book explores the complex, often counter-balancing consequences of the involvement of traditional authority in the wave of democratization and liberal-style state-building that has rolled over Sub-Saharan Africa in the past decade. It scrutinizes how, in practice, traditional leaders are being drawn into governance in Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, Burkina Faso, and the Somali region of Ethiopia. The authors relate these developments to state governance in the declining democracy of Zimbabwe and the emerging state of Northern Somalia."--BOOK JACKET.