Customary Governance and Democracy Building: Exploring the Linkages, International IDEA - 2011

How to best address the role of customary governance structures in a variety of current and potential future democracy-building contexts was the core question at the conference, jointly organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and International IDEA, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in September 2011.In many contexts ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ governance structures cannot easily be separated. Participants at this conference recognized the need to develop an approach to democracy building that seeks to match and combine these seemingly parallel systems of governance while formulating effective ways of dealing with instances where they diverge.In addition, the importance of ‘customizing the democratic’—and at the same time ‘democratizing the customary’—is essential if democracy is to be considered truly legitimate by the world’s populations. A key conclusion of the discussions was recognizing and paying attention to contextual specificity; regional, national or local.The conference brought together 70 experts from around the world, to develop a comparative analysis of the role and functioning of customary governance structures, promoting better informed and more effective democracy-building efforts.You can read this publication or download it from the link below: http://www.idea.int/publications/customary-governance/index.cfm Table of ContentsIntroduction Acknowledgements Acronyms and abbreviationsConference Introduction and Opening RemarksDr Kojo Busia, Dr Peter deSouza and Mark SalterSession 1: African PerspectivesWhy Democracy Building in Africa Might Require Reconciling Modern and Traditional Institutions of Governance, Professor Kidane Mengisteab The Roots of Resilience: Exploring Popular Support for African Traditional Authorities,Professor Carolyn LoganSession 2: Rooting Governance in African Realities Rooting Governance in African Realities: Are Customary Institutions the Answer?Frederick Golooba-MutebiSession 3: The Role of Traditional Governance Institutions in PromotingDemocracy and Managing Internal Conflict: The Case of Botswana Customary Governance and Democracy Building: The Case of Botswana, Dr Patrick MolutsiSession 4: The Role of Customary and Elected Authorities in Local Service Delivery: An Indian Case StudyThe Role of Customary and Elected Authorities in Local Service Delivery: The Case of Karnataka State, India, Professor Kripa AnanthpurSession 5: Customary Governance and Democracy Building: Perspectives from the Andean RegionLatin America: New Political Actors, New Democracy and New States: The Role of Indigenous Peoples in the Refounding of the State, Professor Guillermo Padilla RubianoConstitutional Recognition of Indigenous Customary Law in Latin America: From Multiculturalism to Plurinational States—Trends and Challenges, Doctor Raquel Yrigoyen FajardoSession 6: Customary Governance and Democracy Building: An Overview from the Arab World Democracy Between Political Power and Customary Governance in the Arab Region,Gihan AbouzeidSession 7: Lessons Learned for the International Community Doctor Tanja ChopraConcluding Session: Key Issues Identified and Critical Areas Requiring Further InvestigationAnnex 1: Conference agenda Annex 2: List of participants