Dissertation Research: Political Structure and Ideology of the Mpezeni Ngoni, Eastern Zambia

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Political institutions in African societies are changing as a result of decolonization, social pressures, environmental problems, and changes in world-wide economic systems. Many groups are reviving political structures that were extant before European colonialization and modifying them to meet contemporary needs. In this project, the researcher will study the social and cultural dimensions of the Mpezeni Ngoni's (eastern Zambia) political transformations. This society is reinstituting a monarchy and its accompanying rituals which had been suppressed during the colonial era. The researcher will discover how power and authority are being expressed in this new situation by focusing on the monarchy's place within the Zambian state system and its effect on agriculturalists. He will help explain the seemingly contradictory processes of nationalism and ethnic tribalism that are affecting the political structure of the country.