The Role of Traditional Chiefs vs. Local Leaders on Dispute Resolution in Nigeria

• In Event: In-Group/Out-Group Politics

Abstract

Which type of leaders are the most effective in resolving local level disputes? Local leaders -- such as traditional chiefs, religious leaders, or opinion leaders -- wield significant influence over local level dispute resolution. They are often the first point of contact when disputes arise within or across communities. However, anecdotally, the capacity and willingness of these actors varies widely across communities, districts, and states. And, there is little evidence about how their effectiveness in -- or incentives for -- resolving disputes may vary. Most existing studies on traditional and local leaders overwhelmingly focus on how they influence local development and electoral outcomes (Baldwin, 2016a; Baldwin, 2016b; Diaz-Cayeros, Magaloni and Ruiz-Eler, 2015; Koter, 2013; De Kadt and Larreguy, 2014.) In this paper, I leverage a randomized evaluation and lab-in-the-field games to explore the characteristics that influence effectiveness in dispute resolution across traditional chiefs and other local leaders. Drawing from an original survey of 624 local leaders (chiefs, youth leaders, community leaders, and religious leaders) across 88 communities in Nigeria, I find evidence that non-traditional leaders that are highly embedded within both conflicting communities and have more competitive selection mechanisms are more effective at resolving disputes across different ethnic groups than traditional chiefs. On the other hand, highly embedded traditional chiefs, while possessing high levels of respect, put less effort into dispute resolution and are less trusted across conflicting communities. Qualitative data suggests this is due to opposing groups believing embedded traditional chiefs are actually less impartial arbiters of disputes.

Author

• Catlan Erin Reardon, University of California, Berkeley