The Political History of Ghana (1950-2013)

The Political History of Ghana (1950-2013)
Author: Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 785
Release: 2014-10-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 149698563X

This book is an instructive historical record of the First Republic of Ghana and the triumphs and tribulations of successive governments since 1950. It reminds us of the struggle between Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and his political opponents in the period preceding the achievement of political independence for Ghana, the events leading to his overthrow, and its impact on the course of Ghanas history. It is perhaps the most comprehensive history to date of the Rawlings era, the establishment of the Fourth Republic, and the formation of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The NDC came to eclipse the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) as the rival of the DanquahBusia tradition manifested in the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the countrys oldest national political movement originally formed to pioneer the independence struggle but later eclipsed by the breakaway CPP. The UGCC has undergone several transformations since and today is represented by the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The book well documents the challenges facing independent Ghana, including those related to the growth of democracy nationwide and within political parties. The African liberation struggle, the drama of the Congo crisis of the 1960s, and the Liberian crisis of the 1990s are graphically re-enacted to highlight Ghanas significant role in the events. It is perhaps the best account of the sacrifices Ghana and other ECOWAS countries, particularly Nigeria, made in returning peace to Liberia after a bitter civil war through the successful peacekeeping and peace-enforcement efforts of ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). The book sheds light on Dr. Obed Yao Asamoahs evolution into a politician of no mean achievement during the creation of the Fourth Republic and as the longest serving Foreign Minister and Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Ghana has ever known, offices he held simultaneously between 1993 and 1997.

My First Coup d'Etat

My First Coup d'Etat
Author: John Dramani Mahama
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2012-07-19
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1408832690

An important literary debut from the Vice President of Ghana, a fable-like memoir that offers a shimmering microcosm of post-colonial Africa. 'A much welcome work of immense relevance' Chinua Achebe My First Coup D'Etat chronicles the coming-of-age of John Dramani Mahama in Ghana during the dismal post-independence 'lost decades' of Africa. He was seven years old when rumours of a coup reached his boarding school in Accra. His father, a minister of state, was suddenly missing, then imprisoned for more than a year. My First Coup D'Etat offers a look at the country that has long been considered Africa's success story. This is a one-of-a-kind book: Mahama's is a rare literary voice from a political leader, and his stories work on many levels - as fables, as history, as cultural and political analysis, and, of course, as the memoir of a young man who, unbeknownst to him or anyone else, would grow up to be vice president of his nation. Though non-fiction, these are stories that rise above their specific settings and transport the reader - much like the fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Nadine Gordimer - into a world all their own, one which straddles a time lost and explores the universal human emotions of love, fear, faith, despair, loss, longing, and hope despite all else.

The History of Ghana

The History of Ghana
Author: Roger S. Gocking
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2005-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0313061300

Gocking provides a historical overview of Ghana from the emergence of precolonial states through increasing contact with Europeans that led to the establishment of formal colonial rule by Great Britian at the end of the 19th century. Colonial rule transformed what was known as the Gold Coast economically, socially, and politically, but it contained the seeds of its own demise. After World War II an increasingly more effective nationalist movement challenged British rule, and in 1957 Ghana became independent. Independence brought its own challenges the most important of which was the inability to maintain political stability. Within the space of 24 years there were four military coups and the collapse of three republics. Ghana's Fourth Republic, established in 1993, has dealt with the legacy of instability inherited from the past as it moves towards a more stable future. A timeline, photographs, maps, and an appendix of biographies of notable figures in the history of Ghana are included. Students and adults alike will find this book to be highly effective in describing the often turbulent and tumultuous history of this country.

Ghana

Ghana
Author: Jeffrey Ahlman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2023-10-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0755601580

Few African countries have attracted the international attention that Ghana has. In the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the then-colonial Gold Coast emerged as a key political and intellectual hub for British West Africa. Half a century later, when Ghana became the first sub-Saharan state to emerge from European colonial rule, it became a key site for a burgeoning, transnational, African anticolonial politics that drew activists, freedom fighters, and intellectuals from around the world. As the twentieth century came to a close, Ghana also became an international symbol of the putative successes of post-Cold-War African liberalization and democratization projects. Here Jeffrey Ahlman narrates this rich political history stretching from the beginnings of the very idea of the "Gold Coast" to the country's 1992 democratization, which paved the way for the Fourth Republic. At the same time, he offers a rich social history stretching that examines the sometimes overlapping, sometimes divergent nature of what it means to be Ghanaian through discussions of marriage, ethnicity, and migration; of cocoa as a cultural system; of the multiple meanings of chieftaincy; and of other contemporary markers of identity. Throughout it all, Ahlman distills decades of work by other scholars while also drawing on a wide array of archival, oral, journalistic, and governmental sources in order to provide his own fresh insights. For its clear, comprehensive coverage not only of Ghanaian history, but also of the major debates shaping nineteenth- and twentieth-century African politics and society more broadly, Ghana: A Political and Social History is a must-read for students and scholars of African Studies.

Securitising Decolonisation

Securitising Decolonisation
Author: Julius Heise
Publisher: transcript Verlag
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2024-05-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3732873064

With the right to petition the United Nations, the Ewe and Togoland unification movement enjoyed a privilege unmatched by other dependent peoples. Using language conveying insecurity, the movement seized the international spotlight, ensuring that the topic of unification dominated the UN Trusteeship System for over a decade. Yet, its vociferous securitisations fell silent due to colonial distortion, leaving unification unfulfilled, thus allowing the seeds of secessionist conflict to grow. At the intersection of postcolonial theory and security studies, Julius Heise presents a theory-driven history of Togoland's path to independence, offering a crucial lesson for international statebuilding efforts.

The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa

The Political Economy of Xenophobia in Africa
Author: Adeoye O. Akinola
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2017-11-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319648977

This book analyzes the phenomenon of xenophobia across African countries. With its roots in colonialism, which coercively created modern states through border delineation and the artificial merging and dividing of communities, xenophobia continues to be a barrier to post-colonial sustainable peace and security and socio-economic and political development in Africa. This volume critically assesses how xenophobia has impacted the three elements of political economy: state, economy and society. Beginning with historical and theoretical analysis to put xenophobia in context, the book moves on to country-specific case studies discussing the nature of xenophobia in Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana and Zimbabwe. The chapters furthermore explore both violent and non-violent manifestations of xenophobia, and analyze how state responses to xenophobia affects African states, economies, and societies, especially in those cases where xenophobia has widespread institutional support. Providing a theoretical understanding of xenophobia and proffering sustainable solutions to the proliferation of xenophobia in the continent, this book is of use to researchers and students interested in political science, African politics, peace studies, security, and development economics, as well as policy-makers working to eradicate xenophobia in Africa.

Revolution and Democracy in Ghana

Revolution and Democracy in Ghana
Author: Jeffrey Haynes
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2022-12-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000837734

This book analyses Flight-Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings’ plans for radical democratisation in Ghana, involving ordinary people directly in the country’s political and economic decision-making processes. Rawlings came to power in Ghana in late 1981 determined to restructure the characteristics of Ghana's political and economic systems. Despite Rawlings’ aim to bring ordinary Ghanaians into the decision-making process, his regime was still heavily dependent on the support of the military and attempts at direct democracy ultimately ended in failure. Outside analysts have viewed his plans as one of Africa’s most draconian economic reform programmes. The book traces this turbulent period of Ghana’s history, showing Rawlings’ development from a fiery revolutionary to a democracy-supporting politician adept at winning elections. It investigates how, despite frequent coup attempts and the loss of most of its original civilian support base, the regime was able to remain in power, overseeing a halt to economic decline and a return to growth. Building on over thirty years of research, including contemporaneous interviews conducted by the author during Ghana’s ‘revolutionary’ period, this book will be of interest to researchers of African history and politics.

The Political Impact of African Military Leaders

The Political Impact of African Military Leaders
Author: Sabella Ogbobode Abidde
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2023-06-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3031314271

This edited volume examines the cases of four African military leaders who had enormous impact on the continent and beyond. These military officers, and later heads of state -- Jerry Rawlings of Ghana; Moammar Gaddafi of Libya; Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso; and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt – were provocative and polarizing figures, beloved domestically but mostly viewed with suspicion and hostility by foreign governments. This volume studies these leaders as a group, engaging in a critical but systematic examination of their personalities, leadership styles, official performance, legacies, and their continuing impact on the future and political destiny of the continent. Providing a survey of controversial but important African political figures, this volume will be of use to scholars and students in the social sciences, especially those interested in African history, African studies, military science, Black studies, political science, leadership studies, and the politics of developing nations.

Deals and Development

Deals and Development
Author: Eric Werker
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2018
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0198801645

When are developing countries able to initiate periods of rapid growth and why have so few been able to sustain growth over decades? This book provides a novel conceptual framework built from a political economy of business-government relations and applies it to nine countries across Africa and Asia, drawing actionable policy recommendations.

African Land Reform Under Economic Liberalisation

African Land Reform Under Economic Liberalisation
Author: Shinichi Takeuchi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2021-10-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9811647259

This open access book offers unique in-depth, comprehensive, and comparative analyses of the motivations, context, and outcomes of recent land reforms in Africa. Whereas a considerable number of land reforms have been carried out by African governments since the 1990s, no systematic analysis on their meaning has so far been conducted. In the age of land reform, Africa has seen drastic rural changes. Analysing the relationship between those reforms and change, the chapters in this book reveal not only their socio-economic outcomes, such as accelerated marketisation of land, but also their political outcomes, which have often been contrasting. Countries such as Rwanda and Mozambique have utilised land reform to strengthen state control over land, but other countries, such as Ghana and Zambia, have seen the rise in power of traditional chiefs in managing the land. The comparative perspective of this book clarifies new features of African social changes, which are carefully investigated by area experts. Providing new perspectives on recent land reform, this book will have a considerable impact on scholars as well as policymakers.