Symbol and Power in Contemporary Tanzania: the Role of Father’s of the Nation Staff in Presidential Race

Abstract. Symbol, whether as a material object or in form of behavior, is a marker of power relations. Denoting the difference between the group of leaders and that of the led (as well as within them), symbols define power hierarchy. The latter is as true for the official political sphere as it is for the informal one. It is not infrequent that symbols are identified with power as it is; hence they provide legitimacy for the owner. As for the symbolic side of the political process in a specific society, it usually resembles the notions of traditional political culture. This is particularly true for Asian and African societies. While officially operating in the frames of borrowed western political institutions they resort to the traditional for their culture rhetoric of power. This paper examines the symbolic performance in current political process of Tanzania. The starting assumption in this analysis is the idea that contemporary non-western societies are prone to what is known as neo-traditionalism. In order to gain legitimacy ruling elites tend to appeal (whether consciously or not) to the inner/traditional concepts of power in minds of their subjects.

Keywords: power, symbol, power succession, legitimacy, political culture, Tanzania, Julius Nyerere.