In many states traditional forms of governance among ethnic groups co-exist with the political institutions active at the state-level. However, we have no systematic knowledge, so far, on the political systems of traditional institutions, their relevance for group members, and national politics. Nor do we know to what extent and how these traditional institutions are legally integrated in the country’s constitutions – if at all. We have addressed this scientific gap by collecting two sets of data. First, with the help of a web survey held among more than 6,000 experts on ethnic groups worldwide, we capture the de facto existence and role of traditional institutions. Second, by coding the constitutions of all UN member states, we record the constitutional enshrinement of traditional governance. In this paper, we attempt to shed light on the question whether the integration of traditional institutions in the legal framework matches their political relevance on the ground (or not). We examine this potential match with a descriptive comparative analysis.
