酋长的回归:传统领袖的复兴与南非民主的巩固

Bring the Chiefs back in: The Resurgence of Traditional Leaders and the Democratic Consolidation in South Africa

南非传统领袖制度曾遭到殖民统治和种族隔离的侵蚀,但非国大的战略选择、部落成员身份认同的重构、农村社区治理的路径依赖和新政府治理能力的缺失促使其在新南非再度复兴。传统领袖的权威不仅得到南非宪法的确认,也获得大部分民众认可。传统领袖制度对南非民主巩固的影响利弊兼有,虽然与现代民主存在矛盾,但由于其蕴含协商民主的部分特质,在一定程度可以弥补南非代议民主的缺失。民主的巩固与深化离不开特定的社会背景,传统权威与现代政治在南非的调适与共存,为新兴民主国家提升民主质量,构建国家治理的本土模式提供了借鉴与参考。

The authority and legitimacy of traditional leaders in South Africa was severely undermined by colonialism and Apartheid;however,factors such as strategies from ANC,identity reconstruction of clan members,path dependency of traditional leadership,limitations of state capacity,as well as the influences of traditional cultures,combined together tocontribute to the resurgence and revitalization of traditional leaders in a democratic South Africa.In spite of the contradictions between traditional authority and democratic politics,chieftaincy serves as an integral part of the democratic consolidation process in South Africa due to its institutional features such as transparency,responsiveness,and public participation in the policy-making process.It therefore functions as an institutional remedy for the deficiencies of South African democracy.New democracies cannot be consolidated when the specific social contexts under which the growth of democracy is neglected.In this light,the co-existence of traditional authority and democratic institutions in South Africa may offer encouraging lessons for those newly-born democracies on how to reach effective governance under their unique social contexts.