Chieftaincy Working Group

In the fall of 2006 the new Buffett Center interdisciplinary Chieftancy Working Group was launched by Tim Earle, Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University. The conceptual roots of the Chieftancy are found in Earle’s own scholarly work, which looks at the role of Chiefdoms in prehistory. According to Earle, Chiefdoms were the dominant form of political organization worldwide prior to the modern age by virtue of being both adaptive and opportunistic. The purpose of the Chieftancy Working Group is to apply this concept to understanding how sub-state organizations adjust to political and economic dynamics of the modern world, particularly within states and at their margins. Such groups may include warlords, urban gangs, drug cartels, insurgencies, authoritarian regions and patronage systems within modern democracies.

The ultimate goal of the Chieftancy Working Group is to cross-pollinate scholars from across the university in order to stimulate individual and group research projects and publications. The Group meets twice per quarter in the informal setting of faculty homes, where discussions on different sub-topics are led by specialists in their respective fields. The inaugural meeting took place at the conclusion of the fall 2006 quarter with much success and the plan is to hold 11 more events over the next 2 years with the view to eventually hold a Chieftancy Conference.

Faculty, visiting scholars and graduate students interested in participating should contact Tim Earle (tke299@northwestern.edu) or Chris Day (c-day@northwestern.edu).