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SUMMARY:The Whigs and Jacobins of Africa: Traditional Authorities across F
 rancophone and Anglophone Sub- Saharan Africa and the Different Conception
 s of Political Order - Jan Erk\, Jan C. Smuts Visiting Fellow 2016-17\, Ce
 ntre of African Studies and Clare Hall 
DTSTART:20170524T160000Z
DTEND:20170524T173000Z
UID:TALK71849@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Victoria Jones
DESCRIPTION:The 1990s were marked by large-scale democratic reforms throug
 hout Sub-Saharan Africa\, which – amongst other things – ended up blow
 ing new life into the  mostly  dormant  traditional  authorities. Francoph
 one and  Anglophone  Africa display marked  differences  concerning  the  
 recognition and constitutionalisation of traditional authorities however. 
  Notwithstanding   the uniqueness of individual cases\, in  broad brushstr
 okes\, this dichotomy reflects the foundational differences in legal cultu
 res  cemented  in  earlier times.  The British colonial  practice  of  ‘
 indirect rule’  had historically lead  to the  recognition\,  co-optatio
 n\, and sometimes distortion\, of the exiting traditional authorities at t
 he time of British arrival. France on the other hand had exercised direct 
 rule\, which led to  the  subsequent  weakening\,  and sometimes disappear
 ance\, of traditional authorities. This dichotomy was underscored  by  two
   respective legal traditions: the common-law tradition more open to prece
 dent\, custom\, and continuity\; and the more statist/reformist inclined c
 ivil law tradition. In many ways\, these are two competing conceptions of 
 political order: evolutionary and pragmatic governance seeking piecemeal l
 ong- term returns versus idealist\, activist governance seeking  large-sca
 le  change\;  the Whigs and Jacobins in other words. The lecture will seek
  to connect the current state of affairs with these two competing concepti
 ons of political order.
LOCATION:Queens' College\, Fitzpatrick Hall
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