The State and the Paradox of Customary Law in Africa

The State and the Paradox of Customary Law in Africa
Author :
Publisher : Routledge
Total Pages : 395
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781317014799
ISBN-13 : 1317014790
Rating : 4/5 (99 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The State and the Paradox of Customary Law in Africa by : Olaf Zenker

Download or read book The State and the Paradox of Customary Law in Africa written by Olaf Zenker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-02-02 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Customary law and traditional authorities continue to play highly complex and contested roles in contemporary African states. Reversing the common preoccupation with studying the impact of the post/colonial state on customary regimes, this volume analyses how the interactions between state and non-state normative orders have shaped the everyday practices of the state. It argues that, in their daily work, local officials are confronted with a paradox of customary law: operating under politico-legal pluralism and limited state capacity, bureaucrats must often, paradoxically, deal with custom – even though the form and logic of customary rule is not easily compatible and frequently incommensurable with the form and logic of the state – in order to do their work as a state. Given the self-contradictory nature of this endeavour, officials end up processing, rather than solving, this paradox in multiple, inconsistent and piecemeal ways. Assembling inventive case studies on state-driven land reforms in South Africa and Tanzania, the police in Mozambique, witchcraft in southern Sudan, constitutional reform in South Sudan, Guinea’s long durée of changing state engagements with custom, and hybrid political orders in Somaliland, this volume offers important insights into the divergent strategies used by African officials in handling this paradox of customary law and, somehow, getting their work done.


The State and the Paradox of Customary Law in Africa Related Books

The State and the Paradox of Customary Law in Africa
Language: en
Pages: 395
Authors: Olaf Zenker
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-02-02 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Customary law and traditional authorities continue to play highly complex and contested roles in contemporary African states. Reversing the common preoccupation
The State and the Paradox of Customary Law in Africa
Language: en
Pages: 232
Authors: Olaf Zenker
Categories: Conflict of laws
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-11-11 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Customary law and so called 'traditional authorities' continue to play vital roles in many African societies today. This book tackles the problem of how the sta
Militant Democracy
Language: en
Pages: 271
Authors: András Sajó
Categories: Civil rights
Type: BOOK - Published: 2004 - Publisher: Eleven International Publishing

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is a collection of contributions by leading scholars on theoretical and contemporary problems of militant democracy. The term 'militant democracy' was
Postcolonial Legality: Law, Power and Politics in Zambia
Language: en
Pages: 251
Authors: Jeremy Gould
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2023-03-24 - Publisher: Taylor & Francis

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book interrogates the ideology and practices of liberal constitutionalism in the Zambian postcolony. The analysis focuses on the residual political and gov
Normative Spaces and Legal Dynamics in Africa
Language: en
Pages: 288
Authors: Katrin Seidel
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-06-09 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

African legal realities reflect an intertwining of transnational, regional, and local normative frameworks, institutions, and practices that challenge the idea