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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Ethnic-State political relations in post-apartheid Namibia
Author:Forrest, Joshua BernardISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
Volume:32
Issue:3
Pages:300-323
Language:English
Geographic term:Namibia
Subjects:ethnicity
traditional rulers
central-local government relations
External link:https://doi.org/10.1080/14662049408447686
Abstract:Despite the replacement of ethnically oriented regional institutions by central State appointees in Namibia at independence in 1990, village chiefs retain sufficient authority to influence the distribution of power and resources in their respective communities. This paper examines the attitudes of Namibian national leaders regarding these traditional leaders in the 1990-1993 period. The ethnic policy of the Namibian government in this period consisted of three elements: repeated public statements that declared a strong commitment to de-ethnicized, secular national integration; delay in introducing a formal national government policy that would specify official roles for traditional leaders; and implementation of an ad hoc, issue-by-issue, informal ethnic policy by regional and national government leaders that prioritized pragmatic accommodation, negotiation and a modest movement toward incorporation into the State-controlled bureaucracy. The author concludes that an informal conciliatory strategy may have the potential to encourage and sustain ethnic-State accommodation at the initial stages of a newly created government in a plurally divided society. The paper is based on field research carried out in Namibia in 1991 and 1993. Notes, ref.
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