Paper short abstract:

The paper attempts to define criteria under which African chiefs can be facilitators of democratic governance in modern post-colonial states.If chiefs manage to observe moral imperatives they can promote their subjects into citizens of modern states without losing the continuity of their identity.

Paper long abstract:

The proposed paper will discuss and determine what kind of African chiefs have been true brokers of democratic political culture and thus function as actors of modern political life without being necessarily bogged down in party political bickering and political corruption which makes many African modern post-colonial states so unstable and authoritarian. Chiefs' authority is based on moral and supernatural precepts and relies on the support and trust of the people. The grassroot and consensus character of chieftaincy is the guarantee of democratic governance both within chiefdoms and beyond. Chiefs are or can be watchdogs of democracy without being elected. This paradox of hereditary recruitment and ability to act democratically is a specific feature of modern African politics. The paper will introduce a number of cases from different African countries.