Traditional Authority and Democracy in Southern Africa

The Centre for Applied Social Sciences in Namibia held a major regional workshop to examine the role of traditional authorities in today's rapidly transforming societies of southern Africa. History has taught that customary laws and values that continue to be widely accepted do not disappear with the promulgation of new laws. Modern states of southern Africa adhere to democratic, constitutional and human rights principles which are seen as offering greater protection for the individual; but some people might feel that this is an imposition of alien concepts and values that threaten their survival and identity. Traditional leaders are still active, but how do their powers and duties relate to modern democratic constitutional processes? These are the issues examined in fifteen papers, as relating to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.D'Engelbronner-Kolff, Marina is the author of 'Traditional Authority and Democracy in Southern Africa', published 1998 under ISBN 9789991631646 and ISBN 999163164X.