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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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David and Goliath – Local law and custom meeting an unlawful State - Corruption and Resilience in a pastoral society of Southern Ethiopia
| Panel |
36. Between customs and state law: The dynamics of local law in sub-Saharan Africa
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| Paper ID | 554 |
| Author(s) |
Gabbert, Christina Echi
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | I will describe two scenarios of clashes between State politics and local custom in the small Arbore community of Southern Ethiopia where the application of local coping mechanisms have lead to a surprising outcome of conflictual situations. In both cases local law and custom served as a corrective of the violation of basic democratic principles.
1) A conflict oscillating between (unofficial) State politics and local law:
The experiences of political control, threat and corruption connected to the elections of 2001 in Ethiopia led to a feeling of deep resentment in the Arbore community where the institutional basis for local law and custom is provided by a functioning generation class system. When the agents of corruption tried to instrumentalize its dynamics for their purposes to influence the elections, this caused great disturbances in the functioning of the system as a whole. The result was a clear positioning before the elections in 2005 of one age set stating that “culture (aada) is more important than State politics”. This was then demonstrated by a partial boycott of the elections under the rules that are applied to all age set issues: Loyalty and punishment.
The situation described above, moved on the two track structure of the Government politics as described by Pausewang, Tronvoll and Aalen (2002): The formal structure of democracy under which the party structure of tight control is hidden. The decision not to vote was based on neither one but it happened to move on the first track which provides these possibilities (freedom to vote, rejection of corruption). The pre election reality moved on the latter with ongoing repression of possible non voters. In spite of the fear this evoked, the superiority of the local law was pursued.
2) Reflections on local customs for conflict resolution as complementary to local formal law:
The courageous resistance of Arbore women when armed officers of Megistu’s Regime tried to forcefully take away Arbore girls to far away boarding schools has become a verifying myth of the informal female power in a society ruled by male dominance. Also in the State’s present politics the women’s confrontational resistance is a possible strategy of female agency where formal ways of conflict resolution cannot be applied.
These examples seem to underline the efficiency of the incessant Arbore discourses to distinguish between lawful and unlawful. Aada, the local law is the measure against which politics, innovation and change can be judged to decide about acceptance or denial. In the cases discussed the State’s violation of (its own) law is identified and opposed by local law which is based on traditional ethics. A seriously committed government, trying to build up an authentic federal organization of the State could benefit from such local capacities rather than fighting or misusing them (Krätli 2006). This could also be considered concerning issues where the positioning of State law and local custom still has to be settled (e.g. blood revenge, FGM, hunting).
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