How to build a State in a non State environment?

[Dayuhan]

OK, a note on cleptocracy from a tribal point of view. Depending on the area and the level of centralization in the existing governance system property is viewed as corporate in a tribe. What I mean by that is that all the tribes property is considered owned by the head of the tribe and is distributed for use by members of the tribe in accordance with how he or she views it as being appropriate. A person in a tribal leadership position will look at the property that they have as theirs. All tribal members under him must get permission to use it.

That may be true of some "tribal" cultures but it certainly isn't true of all. "Tribal" is a pretty broad world, and doesn't necessarily mean that there's an all-powerful "head of the tribe" in the picture. In many ways this is more characteristic of the post-tribal "big man" politics that have evolved in much of Africa.

I live in a tribal culture where there isn't any head; decisions are made by councils of elders... "elder" being defined not necessarily by age, rather by acknowledged competence. Can't be too quick to generalize...