Chieftaincy, the State, and Democracy

J. Michael Williams is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of San Diego.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviations1. Introduction: The Chieftaincy, the State, and the Desire to Dominate2. "The Binding Together of the People": The Historical Development of the Chieftaincy and the Principle of Unity3. The Making of a Mixed Polity: The Accommodation and Transformation of the Chieftaincy4. The Contested Nature of Politics, Democracy, and Rights in Rural South Africa5. The Chieftaincy and the Establishment of Local Government: Multiple Boundaries and the Ambiguities of Representation6. The Chieftaincy and Development: Expanding the Parameters of Tradition7. Legitimacy Lost? The Fall of a Chief and the Survival of a Chieftaincy8. Conclusion: The Chieftaincy and the Post-Apartheid State: Authority and Democracy in a Mixed PolityNotesBibliographyIndex

"Examines the complicated interactions between the central state, chieftaincy, and local people in rural areas of post-apartheid South Africa."—Lauren Morris MacLean, Indiana University Bloomington"Williams (Univ. of San Diego) has added to a gradually growing collection of analyses focusing on the functions of chieftainship in South Africa and their role in the democratization process. His book is based primarily on dissertation research for three case studies from 1998 to 1999, completed in 2001, and taking into account changes and transitions in the decade following his initial research. His focus is on how the chieftaincy 'seeks to establish and maintain its legitimacy' and how it blends the 'principles of liberal democracy with principles of hereditary rule.' He updated his evidence during brief visits in 2003 and 2009, adding numerous surveys, journal articles, news accounts, and interviews to his bibliography. [H]is analysis . . . reflects chieftaincy interactions in the democratization process between the people, the state, and the chief's authority as it has evolved over many decades. An extensive bibliography, numerous informative footnotes, and a useful index add to the book's scholarship. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate and research collections. — ChoiceAugust 2010"—M. E. Doro, emerita, Connecticut College"Makes an important and substantive contribution to our understanding of political change in South Africa."—Clifton Crais, Emory University