Governing Apart Together: The Structure, Process and Quality of Modern, Traditional and Dual Governance of Traditional Societies in Suriname

This study describes and analyses the modern, traditional, and dual governance of Ndyuka society in Suriname. It examines formal structures, as well as actual practices, and assesses the quality of governance in the logging, gold mining, and education sectors. The leading research questions reads, what characterizes the structure, process, and practice of the governance of Ndyuka society in Suriname by modern, traditional, and dual authorities, and how does that governance relate to possible criteria concerning the quality of governance? It provides an in-depth analysis of the governance of tribal Ndyuka society in Suriname, including an assessment of the relationship between modern, traditional, and dual governance structures in Suriname and their governance of the logging, gold mining, and education sectors. Furthermore, an examination of what was seen as good quality governance by actors in these governance systems and asked whether those views aligned with governance practices in the three policy fields. To this end, the study discussed how and where the formal and traditional governance systems align (and where not), and what that means for achieving good governance in a society where modern, traditional, and (informal) dual governance operate parallel to each other. Also, the research aims to fill a vacuum in the literature regarding what constitutes good quality traditional governance and dual governance. Existing quality criteria of governance are generally based on, and connected to, modern state governance only. This study assesses their usefulness and applicability for traditional and dual governance systems. And, these insights for Suriname and the quality of governance are aimed at contributing to a wider understanding of the functioning and quality of governance authorities in dual governance systems around the world. The research shows that according to state law, modern government is responsible for formulating, establishing and implementing interior policy. Although the Maroons' residential area has been identified by successive governments as a priority area where the necessary development must be achieved, practice shows otherwise. The established policy and related projects and programs are often not adequately implemented. This is based, among other things, on the lack of implementation capacity and (financial) resources to make the investments that should lead to the development of the interior. We see this in the three sectors studied. Especially in the logging and gold mining sector, we also see that both national and personal interests of some policymakers and investors hinder the actual implementation of the interior policy. In addition, it appears that in all three sectors the legislation is outdated and adaptation to the circumstances within the sectors is pending. This research further shows that the eight selected values from the literature on modern governance can also be found in the few studies and what the various actors say about the quality of traditional governance.