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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Uncertainty and Order in Makete, Tanzania
| Panel |
60. The challenge of uncertainty and order in African polities
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| Paper ID | 532 |
| Author(s) |
Holstenkamp, Lars
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Order - understood as successful attempt to build stable expectations over the ability to cooperate with others (Märkt 2004) - is a central prerequisite for economic development in a region or country, since without the reduction of uncertainty people would not be able to act in most circumstances (Heiner 1983). Thus, it is important to understand the evolution of order and its impact on economic activities.
Building upon work by Douglass C. North and complementary ideas by other scholars, the presentation analyses the development of the law system in the Makete district, Tanzania, thereby identifying historical phases and central actors: From Kinga chiefdom to German colonialism and Christian mission to British colonialism with first attempts to codify customary law according to information given by old and honoured men (Customary Law Declarations) to Ujamaa socialism to more recent changes within the pluralistic law system. Current problems can be lumped together under three headings: 1. not well defined property rights with respect to land; 2. lost flexibility through codification of customary law and transplantation of European law (with resulting incompatibilities to changing social norms); 3. opting out of customary law or selection between laws resp. the interpretation in a way that resembles existing patterns of power and domination.
The presentation concludes with a discussion of implications of the changing order and prevailing uncertainties - further aggravated by immense challenges such as HIV / AIDS - for the dominant pattern of economic activities. These are characterized by small investments in a portfolio of activities mainly in the informal sector.
Findings are based upon fieldwork undertaken in Makete district in October 2005 and a review of the literature. |
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