Challenging Authorities : Ethnographies of Legitimacy and Power in Eastern and Southern Africa

When the notion of ‘alternative facts’ and the alleged dawning of a ‘postfactual’ world entered public discourse, social anthropologists found themselves in unexpectedly familiar territory. In theirempirical experience, fact―knowledge accepted as true―derives its salience from social mechanisms of legitimization, thereby demonstrating a deep interconnection with power and authority. In thisperspective, fact is a continually contested and volatile social category. Due to the specific histories of their colonial and post-independence experience, African societies offer a particularly broad array of insights into social processes of juxtaposition, opposition, and even outright competition between different postulated authorities. The contributions to the present volume explore the variety of ways in which authority is contested in Southern and Eastern Africa, investigating localized discourses on which institution, what kind of knowledge, or whose expertise is accepted as authoritative, thus highlighting the specificities and pluralities in ‘modern’ societies. This edited volume engages with larger theoretical questions regarding power and authority in the context of (post)colonial states (neo)traditional authority, claiming space, conflict and (in)justice, and contestations of knowledge. It offers in-depth critical analyses of ethnographic data that put contemporary African phenomena on equal footing with current controversies in North America, Europe, and other global settings. Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables Introduction: Investigating Authority and Its Legitimization in Contemporary Africa 1 Authority, Power, and Legitimacy in a Post-Factual World 2 Conceptual Clarifications 3 Authorities in Context 4 Diverse Authorities in African Settings 5 On This Volume 5.1 Power and the (Post)Colonial State 5.2 Contested Authorities and State Power 5.3 Power and Authority over Space 5.4 Conflict, (In)Justice, and Plural Legitimacies 6 Alternative Authorities? References Part I: Power and the (Post)Colonial State Whose State? Whose Nation? Representations of the History of the Arab Slave Trade and Nation-Building in Tanzania 1 Introduction: History and Nation-Building in Postcolonial States 2 The Research: Questions, Methods, Scope, and Significance 3 Arabs and Their Involvement in the Slave Trade in East Africa: A Brief Overview 4 Field Evidence About the Attitudes of African Tanzanians to Tanzanian Arabs 4.1 The ‘Red’ Group 4.2 The ‘Yellow’ Group 4.3 The ‘Green’ Group 5 Conceptualization of Some African Tanzanians’ Negative Attitudes Towards Arabs 6 Perception of Geographical Destinations of the Arab Slave Trade and Ethnicity of Traders 7 One State, One Nation: Nyerere’s Legacy and the Arab Slave Trade in School Textbooks 8 Conclusion: Tanzanian Nation: Of Africans Only or All Citizens? References Between Ethnicity and Medicine: Reinventing Legitimacy in Chokwe and Sukuma Chieftaincies 1 Introduction 2 Medicine, Power, and Authority in Equatorial Africa 3 Medicinal Rule in Bulima and Busiha Chiefdoms 3.1 Chieftaincy as Initiatory Medicine 3.2 Rain Medicine in Bulima and a Chief’s Contested Legitimacy 3.3 The Death of Traditional Chieftaincy in Ndagalu 4 Ethnicity in Colonial Chieftaincy: The Case of the DRC 5 Festival-Based Chieftaincy and Inclusive Ethnicity: The Chokwe Case 6 Conclusion References Part II: Contested Authorities and State Power By What Authority? Cosmology, Legitimacy, and the Sources of Power in Malawi 1 The Powers That Be in Malawi 1.1 Legalities, (il)Legitimacies, and Chosen Ones in Office 1.2 Traditions of Authority and the (a)Morality of Power 1.3 Charismatic Callings and (un)Holy Alliances 2 Weber in the Bush 2.1 Theory: Analytic Traditions 2.2 Application: Old Authorities in a New Field 2.3 Critique: Moralities of Power 3 Malawian and Global Authorities References Bittamo: Authority, Legitimacy, and Duty in Kara, Southern Ethiopia 1 Introduction 2 Legitimacy in Ethiopia 3 Authority in Kara 4 Bittamo as Duty 5 Becoming Bitti References In Search of Democracy: Gadaa as a Political Ideal, or the Legitimacy of Traditional Authority in Times of Turmoil and Unease 1 Introduction 1.1 What Is Democracy? Political Model, Utopia, or the ‘Vernacular’? 2 The Ethiopian Experience: The ‘Coming of Democracy’ and ‘Rebirth of Tradition’ 2.1 Culture/Tradition as Capital 3 Gadaa Governance: The Tuulama Example 3.1 Gap or Continuity? 3.2 A ‘Bureaucratic Revolution’ 4 Introduction of Leadership: The Position of Abbaa Gadaa 4.1 The Founding of the Abbaa Gadaa Council 5 Intangible Heritage 5.1 State Involvement and Material Impact 6 ‘Gadaa Democracy’: Re-Defining ‘Tradition’ 6.1 Transmitting and Teaching ‘Gadaa’ 7 Gadaa as a ‘National Icon’ 7.1 Gadaa and Political Dissent 7.2 New Developments 8 Reformulating ‘African Democracy’: Renegotiating Definitional Power References Contested Authorities, International Experts, and the Quest for Social Justice: Negotiating Social Welfare in an African Setting 1 Introduction: The Amazing Otjivero 2 Authority, Power, and Legitimacy 3 Research Methods 4 Political Outline: Basic Income Grants in Namibia 5 Contested Authorities: Whose Claims Prevail? 5.1 Moral and Performative Legitimacy 5.2 Contested Authority 5.3 Political Allegiance, Loyalty, and Respect for the Elders 6 It’s Not Yet the End of BIG: Negotiating Social Protection Policy and Authority 7 Conclusion: Lessons on Authority and Legitimacy References Challenging Neotraditional Authority in Namibia 1 Introduction 2 What Is ‘Authority’? Three Theoretical Perspectives 3 Challenging Neotraditional Authority: A Case Study of the Topnaar Traditional Authority, Namibia 3.1 Quotas, Concessions, and Conflicts 3.2 The Topnaar ‘Youth Uprising’ 4 Discussion and Concluding Remarks References Part III: Power and Authority over Space Changes in Ethnicity and Land Rights Among the !Xun of North-Central Namibia 1 Introduction 2 Overview of the Research Area 3 The Development of a Plural Society 4 The Widespread Impact of Missionary Activities 5 Involvement of the San in the Liberation Movement 6 Developmental Activities on Behalf of the San 7 Conclusion References San Traditional Authorities, Communal Conservancies, Conflicts, and Leadership in Namibia 1 Introduction 2 San Traditional Authorities 3 Challenges to TA Authority and Communities in Nyae Nyae 4 Conclusion References Sacred Spaces, Legal Claims: Competing Claims for Legitimate Knowledge and Authority over the Use of Land in Nharira Hills, Zimbabwe 1 Introduction 2 Theoretical Framing 3 Background: Power and Its Practice in Zimbabwe 4 Case Study: Heritage and Land Use at Nharira Hills 5 Discussion: Ways of Making Authority Through Knowledge 5.1 On Petitioning for Rain 5.2 On Law 6 Conclusion References Case Law Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations Part IV: Conflict, (In)Justice, and Plural Legitimacies A Magic Momentum: Negotiating Authority in the Bongolava Region, Madagascar 1 Introduction 2 Negotiating Authority, Legitimacy, and Violence in Africa 3 Negotiating Authority on Madagascar 3.1 A Long History of Insecurity, Self-Defense, and Search for Authority 3.2 A Murky Situation 4 Insecurity, Corruption, and the Question of Authority in the Bongolava Region 4.1 Methodological Note 4.2 Negotiating Legitimacy and Authority in the Bongolava Since 2009 5 A Magic Momentum 5.1 The ‘Children of Black’ and the ‘Red Scarfs’ 5.2 The Meaning of Authority and Legitimacy in the Bongolava 6 Conclusion References Ungoverned Spaces and Informalization of Violence: The Case of Kenya Police Reservists (KPRs) in Baragoi 1 Introduction 2 State-Community Relations: Ungoverned Spaces and Violent Entrepreneurship in Kenya 3 Study Area and Methodology 4 History and the Institutional Structure of KPR in Kenya 5 From Kenya Police Reserves to National Police Reserves (NPRs) 6 KPRs and the Informalization of Violence in Northern Kenya 7 KPRs as Heroes on the Vanguard of Security Issues in Baragoi 8 KPRs and Violent Raids in Northern Kenya 9 KPRs, Arms, and the Politics of Violence in Samburu North 10 Privatization of KPRs in Samburu North 11 Chiefs as KPRs? 12 Conclusion References Secrecy and Visibility: Challenging Verwoerdism in South Africa’s Twentieth Century 1 Verwoerdism and Media: Introduction 2 Approach 3 Methods 4 The ‘Spell’ of Dr Hendrik F. Verwoerd 4.1 The God-Given Volksleier 5 State Television: Balance, Doubt and Outrage 5.1 The Story of Bara and Its Aftermath 5.2 Bara Within the Field of Documentary Media Production 6 New Media, New Authorities 7 Conclusions References Who Calls the Tune? Submission, Evasion, and Contesting Authorities in Ethiopian Refugee Camps 1 Introduction 2 The Setting: Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia 3 Ambivalent Actors in the Camp and Throughout Political Transformations 3.1 ARRA 3.2 UNHCR 3.3 NGOs 3.4 Eritrean Opposition Groups 3.5 The Local Population in Tigray Province 3.6 Criminal Networks 3.7 The Eritrean Government 4 Submission, Evasion, Disorientation 5 Trustworthy Authorities in Corrupted Human Life-Worlds References Index