African St. Political Systems Lecture

TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE AND
POLITICS IN AFRICA
University of Health and Allied Sciences
Ho
Department of General and Liberal Studies
UHAS 114:
Introduction to Ghanaian and African Studies
Lecturer:
Samuel Bewiadzi
Outline
Introduction
What is a political system?
What is political organization?
Political organization and administration in pre-
colonial Africa
Classification of indigenous state structures and
authority forms
Basic features of the indigenous political systems.
Critique of these classificatory models.
Conclusion
Introduction
•Politics is not alien to Africa.
•Long before the arrival of the Europeans, people from different

communities joined together through confederations or conquest, for
purposes of commerce or defense, to develop kingdoms.
•Large scale empires (states) initially ‘rose’ out of such kingdoms by

expanding through military or diplomatic leadership, but they
eventually ‘fell’ (fragmenting into their component parts) within the
course of history.
•Such large scale empires usually recognized the legitimacy and

autonomy of local leaders and communities.
African Indigenous State
System
Examples of Ancient, Medieval and Modern
African States
•Ancient Egypt • Kanem Bornu
•Kush/Nubia • Dahomey Kingdom
•Axum • Kingdom of
•Ghana Empire Buganda
•Mali Empire • Oyo Empire
•Songhai Empire • Zulu Empire
• Asante Empire
What is a Political System/Political
Organization?
A Political system denotes maintenance and
establishment of social order within a territorial
framework by the organized exercise of coercive
authority or physical force (Radcliffe Brown, 1962)
What is Political Organization?

Political organization describes the various degrees
of power and the level at which it is exercised within
an autonomous political area (Arhin, 1985:1)
Political Organization and
Administration in Pre-colonial Africa
•There existed small states and big nations in pre-colonial Africa.
•Some of these states were ruled by influential political figures. E.g. a

chief
•The institution of chieftaincy was therefore an important institution

within pre-colonial Africa.
•chieftaincy is one of the most highly cherished of traditional

institutions. It represents our indigenous systems of government as it
has evolved through the centuries. It was in existence in various forms
in different parts of the country long before our first contact with
Europeans in the 15th century and has survived without a break right up
until the present (Boateng, 1996:141)
Political Org. and Administration cont.
Some other states were not ruled by chiefs but by a
council of elders. These societies relied on consensus
building to govern their states.
The functions of these societies were therefore to:
Provide traditional governance and politics.
Provide social organization/stratification.
Provide economic support to their people.
Promote the total well being of the people.
Ensure cordial relations between the people and the
supernatural.
Classification of Indigenous State
Structures and Authority Forms
“The pioneering attempt to classify in some
organized fashion the multitude of African systems
on the basis of political organization appeared in
1940. Fortes Pritchard in their introduction to
“African Political Systems” developed a
classificatory scheme based on those aspects of the
system concerned with the control and regulation of
the use of force…” (Potholm, 1970:78)
Classification cont.
The two types of states that existed according to
Fortes and Evans-Pritchard were:
•Centralized States
•Acephalous States/Stateless Societies/Non

Centralized Societies (Fortes & Evans-Pritchard,
1940)
The models used in classifying these states into
centralized and non-centralized societies are as
follows:
Classification cont.
A recognized political authority;
Well organized administrative and bureaucratic
machinery;
Judicial system (courts);
 Codified Laws
A standing army
Revenue mobilization
A territorial framework (Fortes & Evans-Pritchard,
1940)
Centralized States/Societies
A centralized society denotes a state that has a recognized
central authority who owes allegiance to the governed
(people). The political authority resides with a centralized
authority who could be a king, chief, or monarch.
Potholm (1970:79) notes that “the primitive states… are

characterized by centralized authority, well-defined legal
administrative institutions, and a hierarchical decision-
making pattern.
Examples: Asante, Zulu, Banda, Bemba, Dahomey, Oyo,

Buganda etc
Centralized States/Societies cont.
Features of Centralized States:
•Central authority;
•Administrative machinery;
•Judicial institutions;
•Revenue mobilization; (Rattray, 1927)
•An army;
•Rules and regulations
•Territorial framework etc (Forde & Kerberry, 1967)
Examples: Asante Empire, Kingdom of Dahomey, the
Zulu Kingdom etc (Robin, 1975; Opoku-Ampomah, 1995)
Acephalous/Non Centralized Societies
Acephalous society on the other hand refers to a political
society that has no centralized political authority.
According to Radcliffe Brown, acephalous (headless)

society is a “stateless” society.
Potholm (1970:78) also calls them “Stateless” political

systems where political authority is dispersed throughout
clan group segments which are ‘spatially juxtaposed and
structurally equivalent.”
Acephalous Societies cont.
This society lacks political leaders or hierarchies; they
are also known as egalitarian or non-stratified societies.
Typically, these societies are small-scale, organized into

bands or tribes that make decisions through consensus
decision making rather than appointing permanent chiefs
or kings.
Most foraging or hunter-gather societies are acephalous.
 Examples: the Tiv, Ibo, Masai, Nuer, Mandari, Dinka,
Tallensi, Kokomba etc
Features Of Acephalous Societies
There is no central authority;
They lack political figures or hierarchies
They live in bands and ‘tribes’
Age set or age grade is central to this society.
Cattle plays a central role in the economic life of these
people.
There is sharp division in rank, status and wealth in these
societies.
There is no organized court system etc. (Bohannan &
Laura, 1953)
Acephalous Societies cont.
No formal bureaucratic machinery
No codified laws
No standing army
Lacks territorial framework
(Burton, 1995; Middleton & Tait, 1958)
Basic Features Of The Indigenous Political
Systems.
The Indigenous African political institutions were
largely based on kinship and ancestry.
Rules of procedure were established through

customs and traditions some with oral, some with
written constitutions
Women played active roles in the political system

including holding leadership and military positions.
Basic Features cont.
 The indigenous political system had some democratic
features. For example, succession was regulated
according to descent and merit in some cases.
 Checks and balances were provided as well as consensus-

building.
 Power in the indigenous political system was both

secular and sacred.
 The village constitutes the basic unit of the indigenous

political system.
Critique of the Classificatory Models
The range and variety of political systems found
in traditional African societies defy an attempt to
definitive classification into types of political
organization (Olaniyan, 1982:33)
•The classificatory models are problematic.

•The principles underlying the model cannot be
pinned down:
Critique cont.
Issues:
 the issue of absolute power;
 the issue of standing army;
 the issue of territorial framework;
 the issue of decentralization defeats the argument of absolute power;
 there are laws in acephalous societies;
 there an element of bureaucracy in acephalous societies;
 the issue of acephalous states not having government is defeated by the

age set system;
 the issue of state transcends territorial framework;
 the argument that the central authority controls all economic resources is
not absolute
 the existence of the theocratic societies; e.g. the Ga, Anlo etc
Conclusions
Africa had various/diverse forms of political systems
before the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century.
These political systems were democratic in nature.
The well organized nature of the indigenous political

systems like Asante, Buganda, Dahomey, etc compelled the
European Imperialists to introduce the Indirect Rule System
in Africa.
References
Arhin, K. (1985). Traditional Rule in Ghana. Sedco Publishing Ltd. Accra
Bohannan P. J. & Laura (1953).The Tiv of Central Nigeria London: International
African Institute,
Boateng, E. A. (1996). Government and the People: Outlook for Democracy in Ghana.
Institute of Economic Affairs. Accra
Burton, John W. "Nuer," Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Boston, Massachusetts: G
K Hall and Co, Vol IX, 1995.
Forde, D. & Kaberry, P.M (1967) West African Kingdoms in Nineteenth Century,
London: OUP.
Fortes, M. and E. Evans-Pritchard (1940). African Political Systems. Oxford University
Press. Oxford
Middleton, J. and D. Tait (1958). Tribes Without Rulers: Studies in African Segmentary
Systems. Routeledge and Kegan Paul. london
Opoku-Amponsah, J.J. (1995). The Asante Kingdom: Illustrated Asante History. Legon
Robin Law, A West African Cavalry State: The Kingdom of Oyo, The Journal of
African History > Vol. 16, No. 1 (1975), pp. 1-15.
Potholm, C.P. (1970). Four African Political Systems. Prentice-Hall, Inc. New Jersey.

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African St. Political Systems Lecture

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TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE AND

•Long before the arrival of the Europeans, people from different

•Large scale empires (states) initially ‘rose’ out of such kingdoms by

•Such large scale empires usually recognized the legitimacy and

What is Political Organization?

•Some of these states were ruled by influential political figures. E.g. a

•The institution of chieftaincy was therefore an important institution

•chieftaincy is one of the most highly cherished of traditional

•Acephalous States/Stateless Societies/Non

Potholm (1970:79) notes that “the primitive states… are

Examples: Asante, Zulu, Banda, Bemba, Dahomey, Oyo,

According to Radcliffe Brown, acephalous (headless)

Potholm (1970:78) also calls them “Stateless” political

Typically, these societies are small-scale, organized into

Rules of procedure were established through

Women played active roles in the political system

 Checks and balances were provided as well as consensus-

 Power in the indigenous political system was both

 The village constitutes the basic unit of the indigenous

•The classificatory models are problematic.

 the issue of standing army;

 the issue of territorial framework;

 the issue of decentralization defeats the argument of absolute power;

 there are laws in acephalous societies;

 there an element of bureaucracy in acephalous societies;

 the issue of acephalous states not having government is defeated by the

These political systems were democratic in nature.

The well organized nature of the indigenous political

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