The Elite Choice : ’Unpacking the elite’ in Mukungule Chiefdom, Zambia

Abstract: Community-based natural resource management has been advocated for by many scholar and environmentalists to improve natural resources management, equity, and justice for local people. However, its implementation on the ground does not always reach the intended goal. This is because poor policies and institutions have led to undemocratic systems that empower elite control and capture. Studies perceive elites to be in full control of decision-making which is not the case. This study ‘unpacks the elite’ to gain new insight into how the mechanisms of elite control and capture operate. I use the concept of capital and the choice and recognition framework to build a foundation for studying how elite power is produced and exercised as a result of both the social context and institutional interventions. I used qualitative and quantitative methods in data collection to capture the life experiences of actors and ensure the reliability and validity of the study. The findings reveal elites use their capital to gain control of governing systems. In democratic systems, however, elites find it difficult to control and capture resources because engaged citizenship can hold them accountable. Elites are responsive to the public in circumstances where they risk losing or gaining symbolic capital. This means that elites are responsive to the pubic even in autocracies. Key policy changes are needed that considers the social and political context of the local community members in community-based initiatives.