
Contents
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1. Introduction 1. Introduction
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2. The Enduring Myth of Despotism 2. The Enduring Myth of Despotism
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3. Pre-colonial Political Systems 3. Pre-colonial Political Systems
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3.1 Empires 3.1 Empires
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3.2 African Kingdoms 3.2 African Kingdoms
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3.2.1 Constitutional checks against tyranny 3.2.1 Constitutional checks against tyranny
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3.2.2 Regicide 3.2.2 Regicide
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3.2.3 The Swazi kingdom 3.2.3 The Swazi kingdom
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3.3 Stateless Societies 3.3 Stateless Societies
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3.4 Chiefdoms 3.4 Chiefdoms
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3.4.1 Institutional checks against despotism 3.4.1 Institutional checks against despotism
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3.4.1.1 Private and public admonitions 3.4.1.1 Private and public admonitions
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3.4.1.2 Prohibitions against the office of chieftaincy 3.4.1.2 Prohibitions against the office of chieftaincy
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3.4.1.3 The royal family 3.4.1.3 The royal family
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3.4.1.4 The inner privy council 3.4.1.4 The inner privy council
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3.4.1.5 The council of elders 3.4.1.5 The council of elders
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3.4.1.6 The foot 3.4.1.6 The foot
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3.4.1.7 Deposition 3.4.1.7 Deposition
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4. The Modern Political Systems 4. The Modern Political Systems
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5. Conclusion 5. Conclusion
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Bibliography Bibliography
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2 Constitutional Checks and Balances in Traditional Africa
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Published:February 2024
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Abstract
The widespread fallacy that has endured over the centuries is the notion that Africa has neither history nor viable institutions and that its people laboured under tyrannical and despotic systems. This misconception is not only factually incorrect but also served as a perversely convenient alibi for the tyrannical regimes that proliferated in pre-colonial and postcolonial Africa. The purpose of this chapter is to debunk this mythology, one that has done incalculable damage to postcolonial development, by examining Africa’s indigenous political systems. The chapter discusses four main traditional polities: empires, kingdoms, stateless societies, and chiefdoms with centralised authority. These illustrate certain aspects of a distinctive African constitutional identity in the form of traditional checks and balances. The main contention is that the real tragedy today is not so much the European propagation of mythology about traditional Africa but its continuation by modern African leaders who established tyrannical systems in postcolonial Africa with no checks and balances. This aided and abetted the postcolonial destruction of Africa.
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