This collection examines the relatively new, and frequently overlooked, political phenomenon in post-colonial Africa of chieftaincy "reinventing" itself.
The essays present new research from Ghana, Botswana, and South Africa, providing the broadest geographic African coverage on the topic of African chieftaincy. The nineteen contributing
authors, mans' of them emerging African scholars, are members of-the Traditional Authority Applied Research Network (TAARN). Their essays give critical insight into the transformation processes
of chieftaincy from the end of the colonial and apartheid periods to the present. Additionally, they examine the realities of male and female traditional leaders in the process of creating anew
their legitimacy and their political offices in an age of great social and political unrest, health Issues, and challenges in governance and development.
This book is part of an open access pilot project making research freely available to African scholars.
Donald I. Ray teaches comparative politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary. He has published extensively on the topics of African politics, state-chief
relations in Africa (especially Ghana), the politics and policies of development, and political responses to change. He is International Coordinator of TAARN.
Tim Quinlan is the research director of the Health Economics and AIDS Research Division (HEARD) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Keshav Sharma is a professor in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies al the University of Botswana in South Africa.
Tacita Clarke works in the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary.
