This paper examines the influence of traditional leaders, or "chiefs," in sub-Saharan Africa, and how their power varies within and among 19 African countries. The authors argue that the power of traditional chiefs is influenced not only by state policies of indirect rule, as previous research has suggested, but also by local factors such as land quality. They find that traditional chiefs have more power in areas with higher agricultural potential and land quality, likely because citizens in these areas rely on traditional chiefs to define and defend their land rights beyond the protections provided by state institutions. The authors suggest that while land quality may not have been an important factor in state formation in the pre-colonial period, it has become increasingly important in the past half century as population densities have increased and agriculture has become more intensive. Controls are also introduced.

This paper examines the influence of traditional leaders, or "chiefs," in sub-Saharan Africa, and how their power varies within and among 19 African countries. The authors argue that the power of traditional chiefs is influenced not only by state policies of indirect rule, as previous research has suggested, but also by local factors such as land quality. They find that traditional chiefs have more power in areas with higher agricultural potential and land quality, likely because citizens in these areas rely on traditional chiefs to define and defend their land rights beyond the protections provided by state institutions. The authors suggest that while land quality may not have been an important factor in state formation in the pre-colonial period, it has become increasingly important in the past half century as population densities have increased and agriculture has become more intensive. Controls are also introduced.

This paper examines the influence of traditional leaders, or "chiefs," in sub-Saharan Africa, and how their power varies within and among 19 African countries. The authors argue that the power of traditional chiefs is influenced not only by state policies of indirect rule, as previous research has suggested, but also by local factors such as land quality. They find that traditional chiefs have more power in areas with higher agricultural potential and land quality, likely because citizens in these areas rely on traditional chiefs to define and defend their land rights beyond the protections provided by state institutions. The authors suggest that while land quality may not have been an important factor in state formation in the pre-colonial period, it has become increasingly important in the past half century as population densities have increased and agriculture has become more intensive. Controls are also introduced.

This article employs cross-national and cross-cultural methods to investigate whether pathogen stress is a direct determinant of authoritarianism. The study controls on other factors such as famine, warfare, and malnutrition and evaluates alternative causal models.

This article explores the factors that predict rituals of conflict. Hypotheses are derived from Gluckman's analysis of Southeast African rituals of rebellion and are tested against a cross-cultural sample.

The author analyzes 440 Sub-Saharan African societies to test whether trade across ecologically diverse zones is predictive of degree of state centralization (state capacity or strength of state) in pre-colonial Africa. The author finds that diverse ecology is predictive of state capacity and that trade supports class stratification. The author also emphasizes the importance of historical contingency and ethnographic data consultation in understanding mechanisms in individual cases.

There is considerable variation both within and across societies in attitudes towards female employment outside of the household. In some societies, the dominant belief is that women should have equal opportunity to work outside the home, while in others women are strongly discouraged from working outside of the domestic sphere. Here the authors use pre-industrial ethnographic data and contemporary observations of gender inequality to test the hypothesis that cultural attitudes regarding the appropriateness of women working outside of the household are rooted in the ancestral adoption of plough cultivation. Contemporary measures of gender inequality assess variation across countries, ethnic groups, and individuals.

Researchers tested four models of leadership for qualities and correlates that could predict the transmission of leadership cross-culturally. Researchers sampled 60 societies from the Probability Sample Files, coding for 24 variables. Support was found for the prevalence of the collective action model and the prestige model, with a lack of support found for the dominance leadership model.

This article investigates the degree of political centralization in pre-industrial and the political competitive outcomes in 15 modern-day Sub-Sahara African countries. The authors first report that pre-colonial centralization decreases political competitiveness in modern day countries, advocating that traditional power structures play a role in modern day politics. The authors then use light-density as a proxy for regional development and test developmental outcomes based on political centralization and competitiveness. They report pre-colonial centralization positively affected regional development and suggest this could be due to more centralized institutions increasing the capacity of chiefs to mobilize voters, in turn lowering political competition and increasing the accountability of elected officials. Many controls are introduced.

This article investigates the degree of political centralization in pre-industrial and the political competitive outcomes in 15 modern-day Sub-Sahara African countries. The authors first report that pre-colonial centralization decreases political competitiveness in modern day countries, advocating that traditional power structures play a role in modern day politics. The authors then use light-density as a proxy for regional development and test developmental outcomes based on political centralization and competitiveness. They report pre-colonial centralization positively affected regional development and suggest this could be due to more centralized institutions increasing the capacity of chiefs to mobilize voters, in turn lowering political competition and increasing the accountability of elected officials. Many controls are introduced.