Understanding the Resurgence of Traditional Authorities in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Drawing their power not from the ballot box but from a supposedly ancient wellspring of power, hereditary traditional authorities in postcolonial Africa have frequently posed challenges for incoming 'democratic' governments. The situation in post-apartheid South Africa is no different. How...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Journal of southern African studies Jg. 42; H. 1; S. 19 - 33
Hauptverfasser: Ainslie, Andrew, Kepe, Thembela
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Oxford Routledge 02.01.2016
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Schlagworte:
ISSN:0305-7070, 1465-3893
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Abstract Drawing their power not from the ballot box but from a supposedly ancient wellspring of power, hereditary traditional authorities in postcolonial Africa have frequently posed challenges for incoming 'democratic' governments. The situation in post-apartheid South Africa is no different. However contentious their role under the colonial and apartheid systems of government was, the Constitution of the new South Africa (1996) recognised traditional authorities and afforded them opportunities for a political resurgence. This article reviews the changing status of traditional authorities in the Eastern Cape province over the 20 years since 1994. It explores the resurgence of the chiefs in relation to the consolidation of democratic processes and of emergent, neo-patrimonial modes of government. It briefly considers the role of traditional authorities in three key and closely related spheres, namely the institution of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders, the question of how gender is handled by and within traditional institutions, and the continuing challenges of land administration and development in rural areas. In all these spheres, and in the face of real opposition, the voice and influence of traditional authorities have emerged stronger than ever. We conclude by suggesting that, as they are drawn deeper into governance and have to play a formal role in addressing the myriad institutional challenges, new questions will and should be asked about the status and influence of traditional authorities, and their substantive contribution to democracy in South Africa.
AbstractList Drawing their power not from the ballot box but from a supposedly ancient wellspring of power, hereditary traditional authorities in postcolonial Africa have frequently posed challenges for incoming 'democratic' governments. The situation in post-apartheid South Africa is no different. However contentious their role under the colonial and apartheid systems of government was, the Constitution of the new South Africa (1996) recognised traditional authorities and afforded them opportunities for a political resurgence. This article reviews the changing status of traditional authorities in the Eastern Cape province over the 20 years since 1994. It explores the resurgence of the chiefs in relation to the consolidation of democratic processes and of emergent, neo-patrimonial modes of government. It briefly considers the role of traditional authorities in three key and closely related spheres, namely the institution of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders, the question of how gender is handled by and within traditional institutions, and the continuing challenges of land administration and development in rural areas. In all these spheres, and in the face of real opposition, the voice and influence of traditional authorities have emerged stronger than ever. We conclude by suggesting that, as they are drawn deeper into governance and have to play a formal role in addressing the myriad institutional challenges, new questions will and should be asked about the status and influence of traditional authorities, and their substantive contribution to democracy in South Africa. (Author abstract)
Drawing their power not from the ballot box but from a supposedly ancient wellspring of power, hereditary traditional authorities in postcolonial Africa have frequently posed challenges for incoming 'democratic' governments. The situation in post-apartheid South Africa is no different. However contentious their role under the colonial and apartheid systems of government was, the Constitution of the new South Africa (1996) recognised traditional authorities and afforded them opportunities for a political resurgence. This article reviews the changing status of traditional authorities in the Eastern Cape province over the 20 years since 1994. It explores the resurgence of the chiefs in relation to the consolidation of democratic processes and of emergent, neo-patrimonial modes of government. It briefly considers the role of traditional authorities in three key and closely related spheres, namely the institution of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders, the question of how gender is handled by and within traditional institutions, and the continuing challenges of land administration and development in rural areas. In all these spheres, and in the face of real opposition, the voice and influence of traditional authorities have emerged stronger than ever. We conclude by suggesting that, as they are drawn deeper into governance and have to play a formal role in addressing the myriad institutional challenges, new questions will and should be asked about the status and influence of traditional authorities, and their substantive contribution to democracy in South Africa. Reprinted by permission of Carfax Publishing, Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Drawing their power not from the ballot box but from a supposedly ancient wellspring of power, hereditary traditional authorities in postcolonial Africa have frequently posed challenges for incoming 'democratic' governments. The situation in post-apartheid South Africa is no different. However contentious their role under the colonial and apartheid systems of government was, the Constitution of the new South Africa (1996) recognised traditional authorities and afforded them opportunities for a political resurgence. This article reviews the changing status of traditional authorities in the Eastern Cape province over the 20 years since 1994. It explores the resurgence of the chiefs in relation to the consolidation of democratic processes and of emergent, neo-patrimonial modes of government. It briefly considers the role of traditional authorities in three key and closely related spheres, namely the institution of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders, the question of how gender is handled by and within traditional institutions, and the continuing challenges of land administration and development in rural areas. In all these spheres, and in the face of real opposition, the voice and influence of traditional authorities have emerged stronger than ever. We conclude by suggesting that, as they are drawn deeper into governance and have to play a formal role in addressing the myriad institutional challenges, new questions will and should be asked about the status and influence of traditional authorities, and their substantive contribution to democracy in South Africa.
Author Ainslie, Andrew
Kepe, Thembela
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Andrew
  surname: Ainslie
  fullname: Ainslie, Andrew
  organization: (University of Reading)
– sequence: 2
  givenname: Thembela
  surname: Kepe
  fullname: Kepe, Thembela
  organization: (University of Toronto; Rhodes University)
BookMark eNqNkU1v1DAQhi1UJLYLPwHJEhcuWcaxndjiwqriS6oEgparNXHs1lXWXmxHqP-eRFsuPQCn0cw8zxzmPSdnMUVHyEsGOwYK3gAH2UMPuxZYt2OsZT0TT8iGiU42XGl-RjYr06zQM3Jeyh0AaCnEhvy4jqPLpWIcQ7yh9dbRb67M-cZF62jy9CrjGGpIESe6n-ttykvnCg2Rfk2lNvsj5sUKI_2eljXd-xwsPidPPU7FvXioW3L94f3Vxafm8svHzxf7y8ZKAbXhFobOaXDotR8GAV76QY0Iyq9jtBJQI0feDcx5JrVgutWC92OnegnAt-T16e4xp5-zK9UcQrFumjC6NBfDet11PWil_gNVwETLW7Ggrx6hd2nOywdWqm-VAljALZEnyuZUSnbeHHM4YL43DMwajPkTjFmDMQ_BLN7bR54NFdcX14xh-qf97mSH6FM-4K-Up9FUvJ9S9hmjDcXwv5_4Ded-p0w
CODEN JSASDC
CitedBy_id crossref_primary_10_1177_00219096241228757
crossref_primary_10_1016_j_marpol_2022_105143
crossref_primary_10_1016_j_polgeo_2022_102792
crossref_primary_10_1177_0738894220959655
crossref_primary_10_1080_00020184_2021_1932417
crossref_primary_10_1080_00020184_2016_1189172
crossref_primary_10_1080_00020184_2023_2260761
crossref_primary_10_1080_02589346_2018_1418218
crossref_primary_10_62191_ROAPE_2024_0018
crossref_primary_10_1093_jhuman_huab026
crossref_primary_10_1080_13563475_2021_1883420
crossref_primary_10_1080_00020184_2021_1940843
crossref_primary_10_17645_up_8909
crossref_primary_10_20525_ijrbs_v13i3_3210
crossref_primary_10_1177_14730952231163240
crossref_primary_10_1016_j_ecoser_2017_07_010
crossref_primary_10_1093_socpro_spac015
crossref_primary_10_1111_pere_12522
crossref_primary_10_1016_j_geoforum_2022_04_010
crossref_primary_10_3390_land14010099
crossref_primary_10_1080_07329113_2019_1700449
ContentType Journal Article
Copyright 2016 The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies 2016
2016 The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies
Copyright_xml – notice: 2016 The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies 2016
– notice: 2016 The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies
DBID AAYXX
CITATION
7UB
8BJ
C18
FQK
JBE
DOI 10.1080/03057070.2016.1121714
DatabaseName CrossRef
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
Humanities Index
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
DatabaseTitle CrossRef
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
Black Studies Center
British Humanities Index (BHI)
DatabaseTitleList British Humanities Index (BHI)
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline History & Archaeology
Social Sciences (General)
Government
EISSN 1465-3893
EndPage 33
ExternalDocumentID 3983924061
10_1080_03057070_2016_1121714
1121714
Genre Article
GeographicLocations South Africa
GeographicLocations_xml – name: South Africa
GroupedDBID -DZ
-~X
.4H
.7I
.QK
0BK
0R~
29L
2AX
2DF
3LD
4.4
5GY
5VS
AAGDL
AAGZJ
AAHIA
AAMFJ
AAMIU
AAPUL
AATTQ
AAZMC
ABBHK
ABCCY
ABDBF
ABFIM
ABJNI
ABLIJ
ABLJU
ABPEM
ABRLO
ABTAI
ABUFD
ABXSQ
ABXUL
ABXYU
ABZLS
ACGFO
ACGFS
ACHQT
ACTIO
ACTOA
ACUHS
ACZ
ADAHI
ADCVX
ADKVQ
ADLRE
ADMHG
ADXPE
AECIN
AEFOU
AEGXH
AEISY
AEKEX
AEOZL
AEPSL
AEUPB
AEYOC
AEZRU
AFDVO
AFRVT
AGDLA
AGMYJ
AGRBW
AGTJU
AHDZW
AIAGR
AIJEM
AIYEW
AJWEG
AKBVH
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
ALQZU
ANHLU
APXXL
AQTUD
AVBZW
AWYRJ
BCU
BEJHT
BLEHA
BMOTO
BOHLJ
CCCUG
CQ1
CS3
DGFLZ
DKSSO
DU5
EAP
EAS
EBS
EHI
EIS
EJD
EMK
EPL
ESO
ESX
EWH
E~B
E~C
F5P
G-F
GINNV
GTTXZ
H13
HF~
HMHOC
HZ~
IPNFZ
IPSME
J.O
JAAYA
JAC
JBMMH
JBZCM
JENOY
JHFFW
JKQEH
JLEZI
JLXEF
JPL
JST
KYCEM
LCRDH
M4Z
NA5
NZ.
O9-
P2P
RIG
RNANH
ROSJB
RSYQP
S-F
SA0
STATR
TASJS
TBQAZ
TDBHL
TEP
TFH
TFL
TFW
TKY
TN5
TNTFI
TRJHH
TUROJ
UT5
UT9
VAE
~01
~45
~S~
AAYXX
CITATION
7UB
8BJ
C18
FQK
JBE
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c540t-3c0b6e90eaf9fbb40f5fb8da08f6e90ac50a9a3a36b1ef15941929437d6875003
IEDL.DBID TFW
ISICitedReferencesCount 32
ISICitedReferencesURI http://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=Summon&SrcAuth=ProQuest&DestLinkType=CitingArticles&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=000371680000002&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D
ISSN 0305-7070
IngestDate Thu Oct 02 16:54:09 EDT 2025
Mon Sep 29 06:42:24 EDT 2025
Mon Nov 10 00:58:38 EST 2025
Tue Nov 18 22:43:22 EST 2025
Sat Nov 29 05:46:47 EST 2025
Mon Oct 20 23:44:13 EDT 2025
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Issue 1
Language English
LinkModel DirectLink
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c540t-3c0b6e90eaf9fbb40f5fb8da08f6e90ac50a9a3a36b1ef15941929437d6875003
Notes ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
PQID 1772880042
PQPubID 49107
PageCount 15
ParticipantIDs informaworld_taylorfrancis_310_1080_03057070_2016_1121714
proquest_miscellaneous_1796670988
crossref_citationtrail_10_1080_03057070_2016_1121714
proquest_miscellaneous_1780142324
proquest_journals_1772880042
crossref_primary_10_1080_03057070_2016_1121714
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2016-01-02
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2016-01-02
PublicationDate_xml – month: 01
  year: 2016
  text: 2016-01-02
  day: 02
PublicationDecade 2010
PublicationPlace Oxford
PublicationPlace_xml – name: Oxford
PublicationTitle Journal of southern African studies
PublicationYear 2016
Publisher Routledge
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publisher_xml – name: Routledge
– name: Taylor & Francis Ltd
SSID ssj0009544
Score 2.2126558
Snippet Drawing their power not from the ballot box but from a supposedly ancient wellspring of power, hereditary traditional authorities in postcolonial Africa have...
SourceID proquest
crossref
informaworld
SourceType Aggregation Database
Enrichment Source
Index Database
Publisher
StartPage 19
SubjectTerms Address forms
African studies
Apartheid
Ballots
Colonialism
Constitutions
Decolonization
Democracy
Governance
Government
Housing authorities
Land
Management
Political leadership
Political power
Politics
Postcolonialism
Power
Public administration
Rural areas
Rural communities
Rural development
Sexes
South Africa
Title Understanding the Resurgence of Traditional Authorities in Post-Apartheid South Africa
URI https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070.2016.1121714
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1772880042
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1780142324
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1796670988
Volume 42
WOSCitedRecordID wos000371680000002&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
journalDatabaseRights – providerCode: PRVAWR
  databaseName: Taylor & Francis Online Journals
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 1465-3893
  dateEnd: 99991231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0009544
  issn: 0305-7070
  databaseCode: TFW
  dateStart: 19741001
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://www.tandfonline.com
  providerName: Taylor & Francis
link http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV1JS8QwFA4iHry4i-NGBBE9RNNpp2mOIg6eRMTtVpI0wQHpDNMZwX_ve0kqI6Ie9Ng2KSF5a5L3fYQcZoqrVAjNuhATsSzTimkpugxcv9VaQD7GK082Ia6vi6cneRNvEzbxWiXm0C4ARXhbjcqtdNPeiDtDGRUgqngxK8caGCTxBisMrh9V867_OAO7mwUAKd5j2KWt4fnuL5-80yfs0i-22jug_vI_DH2FLMXok54HcVklc7ZeIxsBKuSNHlHEoVWe6_dtjXRC6S6N6t_Q44hRfbJOHu5ni2IoRJH01jZTX8lp6dBR8IHVIOwzUtyGG449dCsd1BT5gdn5CGT22Q4q6kn8aOAr2iD3_cu7iysWKRqYgVBvwlLDdW4lt8pJp3XGXc_polK8cPhamR5XUqUqzXViHYROeOgss1RUOSRKYFE2yXw9rO0Woabq9gpjjMOoQkDUlyRaSGu1sLlL0qRDsnZpShPxy5FG46VMWpjTOLklTm4ZJ7dDTj-6jQKAx28d5Oy6lxO_c-ICzUmZ_tJ3txWSMtqCpkwggQErCdaxQw4-PoMW49GMqu1wim0QxQej25_aQGoquCyK7T8McYcs4qPfRerukvnJeGr3yIJ5nQya8b7XnncjnhM0
linkProvider Taylor & Francis
linkToHtml http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV1baxQxFD7UVrAvXmrF1aopFNGHaGbnksljkS4V230oW-1bSDIJLshs2Uuh_95zkpmyRbQP9nWSDCE5ObfkfB_AQWGEyaW0fIg-ES8Ka7hVcsjR9HtrJcZjoolkE3I8ri8u1HotDD2rpBg6JKCIqKvpcFMyun8S95mEVKKs0susiopgiMX7AWyVaGsJP38y-rEGvFskCClRchrTV_H87Te37NMt9NI_tHU0QaMn9zH5p_C4c0DZYZKYZ7Dh2x3YTWgh1-w9IyhaE-l-r3dgkKp3WacBFuxDB1P98Tl8P1-vi2HoSLIzv1jFYk7PZoGhGWymKdXIKBM3m0f0VjZtGVEE88NLFNufftqwyOPHEmXRLpyPjiZfjnnH0sAdentLnjthK6-EN0EFawsRymDrxog60GfjSmGUyU1e2cwH9J7o3lkVuWwqjJVQqbyAzXbW-pfAXDMsa-dcIMdCouOXZVYq7630VcjybABFvzfadRDmxKTxS2c90mm3uJoWV3eLO4BPN8MuE4bHXQPU-sbrZUyehMR0ovM7xu71UqI7dbDQGcYwqChRQQ5g_6YZDzLdzpjWz1bUh4B8yMH9Vx-MTqVQdf3qP6b4Dh4dT05P9MnX8bfXsE1NMak03IPN5Xzl38BDd7WcLuZv41H6DZNEF14
linkToPdf http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV3faxQxEB60ivTFH7XiadUIIvoQzd7ubTaPRT0U5SjSat9Ckk3wQPaO27tC_3tnkmy5ItoHfd0kS0gmk2-SzPcBvKiMMKWUlo8RE_GqsoZbJccct35vrcR4TLRRbELOZs3pqTrKrwn7_KySYuiQiCKir6bFvWzD8CLuLdmoRFOlh1k15cCQiPd1uIHQuSYjP55-3-LdrRKDlJhwajMk8fzpN5e2p0vkpb8567gDTe_8h77fhdsZfrLDZC_34Jrv9mA_cYWcs5eMiGhNFPs934NRyt1lef337FUmqX59H76dbGfFMISR7KvvNzGV07NFYLgJtvN00MjoHG6xitytbN4xEgjmh0s02h9-3rKo4seSYNE-nEw_HL_7yLNGA3eI9da8dMLWXglvggrWViJMgm1aI5pAn42bCKNMacraFj4gdqJbZ1WVsq0xUkKX8gB2ukXnHwJz7XjSOOcCwQqJsK8orFTeW-nrUJTFCKpharTLBOako_FTFwPPaR5cTYOr8-CO4M1Fs2Vi8Liqgdqed72ORych6Zzo8oq2B4OR6OwMel1gBINuEt3jCJ5fFOMyprsZ0_nFhuoQjQ_B27_VwdhUCtU0j_6hi8_g1tH7qf7yafb5MexSSTxRGh_Aznq18U_gpjtbz_vV07iQfgEpKhYQ
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Understanding+the+Resurgence+of+Traditional+Authorities+in+Post-Apartheid+South+Africa&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+southern+African+studies&rft.au=Ainslie%2C+Andrew&rft.au=Kepe%2C+Thembela&rft.date=2016-01-02&rft.pub=Taylor+%26+Francis+Ltd&rft.issn=0305-7070&rft.eissn=1465-3893&rft.volume=42&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=19&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080%2F03057070.2016.1121714&rft.externalDBID=HAS_PDF_LINK&rft.externalDocID=3983924061
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=0305-7070&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=0305-7070&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=0305-7070&client=summon