Informal institutions key issue guide
- Relevance of African traditional institutions of governance
- A number of studies have affirmed the resiliency, legitimacy and relevance of African traditional institutions in socio-cultural, economic and political life, particularly in the rural areas. Alongside this is the sometimes parallel modern State, vested with enormous authority in rule making, application, adjudication and enforcement. This paper argues that there is the need to recognise and address this “duality” fully.
While this is true to a certain degree, it does not present the complete picture either. In many developing countries, institutions rooted in notions of 'traditionality' and in locally-specific practices, exercise public authority at local level through mechanisms distinctly different from those employed by 'formal' state institutions. Such institutions, known both as traditional institutions or informal institutions also make positive contributions to development by complementing state initiatives or by providing a space for the poor to access the state.
Types of informal local governance institutions
‘Informal local governance Institutions’ play an important role in local governance in many developing countries. In poorer countries the state machinery is often less widespread and may not penetrate up to the local level. In such instances, the relationship between state organisations and citizens is more likely to be mediated by informal local governance institutions. More...
ILGIs and justice dispensation
An important aspect of ILGIs is the key role they play in maintaining community harmony. ILGIs provide an important forum for arbitrating disputes at the local level. Not all ILGIs have a formal mandate to arbitrate disputes. More...
ILGIs and local democracy
With deepening democracy in most countries, ILGIs, have time and again, been the focus of attention. The status of these institutions in modern societies and their role within the democratic context has been intensely debated in social science literature: be it the context of democratisation, decentralisation and good governance discourse, or in debates on rural or economic development. More...
