Preface; L.Buur & H.M.Kyed Introdution: Traditional Authority and Democratization in Africa; H.M.Kyed & L.Buur PART I: TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES AND DECENTRALIZED GOVERNANCE Bringing the Sultan Back In: Elders as Peacemakers in Ethiopia's Somali Region; T.Hagmann The Ambivalent Role of Chiefs: Rural Decentralization Initiatives in Malawi; A.L.Chiweza Chiefs, Policing, and Vigilantes: "Cleaning Up" the Caprivi Borderland of Namibia; W.Zeller The Legible Space between State and Community: State Recognition of Traditional Authority in Mozambique; L.Buur & H.M.Kyed PART II: TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES AND STATE AND PARTY POLITICS Traditional Chieftaincy, Party Politics and Political Violence in Burkina Faso; S.Hagberg From Pastoral to State Politics: Traditional Authorities in Northern Somalia; M.Höhne Traditional Authority: Accountability and Governance in Zimbabwe; E.Mapedza "Now We Are a Town": Chiefs, Investors and the State in Zambia's Western Province; W.Zeller