Research in political science on traditional authorities has advanced quickly in the past decade, highlighting the diversity of these institutions and how variation among them affects political outcomes. However, existing research often fails to distinguish between three distinct attributes of these institutions: their de facto power, their downward accountability to the communities they lead, and their recognition by the state. This review demonstrates the importance of these conceptual distinctions by showing that they are empirically distinct concepts, that they have separate causes, and that they have different political effects. In particular, existing research shows that powerful traditional authorities increase collective action to provide local public goods, but state recognition of traditional institutions is important for improving conflict resolution, and their own downward accountability conditions their effect on the accountability of elected representatives.