Kita, Stern Mwakalimi."Barriers or enablers? Chiefs, elite capture, disasters, and resettlement in rural Malawi." Disasters 43,no. 1 (2019): 135-156.

The study explores the role of traditional leadership in community development. Specifically, it looks at the role of elites as development actors and how other actors can work with them in delivering public goods and services in Malawi. These local elites - mainly chiefs, are powerful individuals who take control or alter the delivery of public goods and services, usually at the expense of the local populace who need it most. The study looks at different forms of elite involvement in Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities, specifically resettlement and disaster relief in rural districts of Malawi. The study found that traditional elites influence, positively or negatively, community level delivery of CCA or DRR practices in rural Malawi. When there are resistances towards resettlements due to climate disasters, local elites are usually at the forefront of resistance by speaking against it. Because chiefs are in control of customary lands in most African countries, they are in privileged position to control the local population and in effect government interventions.