ABSTRACT In South Africa traditional leaders, aka (also known as) chiefs or collaborators, had hoped that the new liberation political environment would retain and safeguard their deeply embedded cultural practices and values, which had existed for centuries, but had been partly violated during the colonial era. However, the new liberation era brought with it notions of liberal democracy—characterised by concepts of meritorious selections, based on democratic “elections”, a practice that further marginalised and frustrated hereditary cultural norms and practices, upon which the pillars and identities of each ethnic group or community were based. In discussing the complex and interlocking interests, epochs of colonial and postcolonial experience, the introduction of “foreign” meritorious notions that dispensed with the craved hereditary positions, the chiefs, traditional leaders and former collaborators appear to have been forced to abandon the liberation project and take up the issue of their survival as custodians of customs and chiefdoms; even against the messaging coming from the new political classes. Inevitably, this has created new tensions in the political governance of urban and rural communities, by elected officials who have either failed or succeeded to coopt traditional leaders. This article argues for a balance between democracy and traditional leadership that can inform modern electoral processes and modernise the cultural practices and eliminate unnecessary conflict and tensions.

中文翻译：

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意识形态的冲突：多党（自由）民主与非洲制度的概念

摘要 在南非，传统领导人，又名（也称为）酋长或合作者，希望新的解放政治环境能够保留和保护他们根深蒂固的文化习俗和价值观，这些习俗和价值观已经存在了几个世纪，但在殖民时代。然而，新解放时代带来了自由民主的概念——以基于民主“选举”的功勋选拔概念为特征，这种做法进一步边缘化和挫败了世袭文化规范和实践，在此基础上，每个民族的支柱和身份团体或社区为基础。在讨论复杂和相互关联的利益、殖民和后殖民经历的时代、引入“外国”功勋概念时，免除了渴望的世袭职位，酋长、传统领袖和前合作者似乎被迫放弃解放计划，转而处理他们作为习俗和酋长领地监护人的生存问题；甚至反对来自新政治阶层的信息。不可避免地，这在城乡社区的政治治理方面创造了新的紧张局势，这些官员已经失败或成功地将传统领导人联系起来。本文主张在民主和传统领导之间取得平衡，这可以为现代选举过程提供信息，并使文化实践现代化，并消除不必要的冲突和紧张局势。甚至反对来自新政治阶层的信息。不可避免地，这在城乡社区的政治治理方面创造了新的紧张局势，这些官员已经失败或成功地将传统领导人联系起来。本文主张在民主和传统领导之间取得平衡，这可以为现代选举过程提供信息，并使文化实践现代化，并消除不必要的冲突和紧张局势。甚至反对来自新政治阶层的信息。不可避免地，这在城乡社区的政治治理方面创造了新的紧张局势，这些官员已经失败或成功地将传统领导人联系起来。本文主张在民主和传统领导之间取得平衡，这可以为现代选举过程提供信息，并使文化实践现代化，并消除不必要的冲突和紧张局势。