Local authorities may derive from the state, custom, religion, or even projects (which create ad hoc norms) (Rangé et al., 2024). They may be either individual actors (such as traditional or spiritual leaders) or collective bodies (such as resource management committees or citizens’ assemblies). They may be formal (officially recognised by the state, such as town halls or decentralised state agencies, for example) or informal (customary chiefs not officially recognised by the state, religious or spiritual leaders, etc.).
According to Colin et al. (2023), local authorities vary ‘depending on the types of rights and issues: head of the family, family council, village chief, landowner, sovereign, religious authority, state officials, local elected representatives, territorial administration, the judiciary, etc. Contexts of plural norms often coincide with a plurality of authorities, drawing on different sources of legitimacy: customary powers, religious authorities, state actors.”
