The (Pre)Colonial Origins of Communal Conflict in Namibia

• In Event: African Politics & Public Administration Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual Poster Session: African Politics Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Extant research linking precolonial politics in sub-Saharan Africa to contemporary outcomes typically assumes that colonization did relatively little to alter precolonial political institutions. Recent evidence from across Africa suggests that this assumption is unwarranted. This paper introduces a novel typology of traditional political institutions in sub-Saharan Africa based on the degree of precolonial statehood and colonial disruption that traditional institutions experienced. The typology is then employed to explain differences in the relative frequency of communal conflict using an original dataset of traditional disputes in Namibia between 2002 and 2017. The findings indicate that traditional chiefdoms that experienced both a relatively high degree of precolonial centralization and colonial disruption are most likely to experience communal conflict. Two mechanisms drive this finding. First, colonially disrupted polities suffer from persistent disagreements over the interpretation customary law. Second, succession procedures in disrupted polities are more prone to conflict due to larger sets of eligible heirs.

Author

• Vladimir Chlouba, The Ohio State University