An Anatomy of Ghanaian Politics: Managing Political Recession 1969-1982 by Naomi Chazan

Author:Naomi Chazan [Chazan, Naomi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367019495
Google: BDdYxgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 52286589
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

Part Three

The Dynamics of Politics: An Anatomy of Political Interactions

7

The Second Republic: The Fragility of Ethnic Elitism

Political Conflict: Participation, Politicization, and Dissent

The gradual erosion of the capabilities of successive Ghanaian governments and the concomitant contraction of their spheres of influence evoked a multiplicity of responses. The reactions in specific structural, personal, ideological, and policy areas took on particular forms dictated by the issues involved. Throughout the 1969–1982 period, however, responses to government policies, performance, and behavior were also expressed in more general, overtly political terms that sought to embrace and articulate various approaches to the complex totality of the subjects at hand. These broader, more encompassing activities constituted the essential ingredients of the dynamic interaction of politics and society in Ghana. Therefore, they determined the rhythm and the direction of Ghanaian politics at this time. This section is devoted to unravelling the intricacies of this dynamic interrelationship.

To investigate the differing patterns of action and response, this analysis focuses systematically on five main aspects of the relations between the Ghanaian political order and the social forces which it has incorporated. First, the composition of the ruling coalitions of each regime is identified, and the challenges posed by this make-up are isolated. Second, the sources of opposition to particular governments and the nature of specific demands are amplified. Third, the shifting patterns of interaction and conflict are elaborated in terms of both the intensity and scale of political activity and of the predominating rules of interchange. Fourth, the impact of these activities on the internal alignments and outlooks of subsequent governments is explored. Finally, some of the longer-range implications of these dynamic patterns for future political trends in Ghana are discussed.

These topics delve more deeply into some remaining issues related to the nature of Ghanaian politics from 1969. By bringing together the institutions and social forces, the norms and the contents, the leaders and the policies of this period, it is possible to demonstrate the conflicts that evolved over the quest for power. These struggles for power in Ghana, between whom, over what, for what purposes, and with what results, thus delineated the movement, exchange, and ramifications of the Ghanaian power cycle. The analysis of these power shifts therefore provides a unique opportunity to combine the many pieces of the Ghanaian political puzzle within a reflectively dynamic framework.

This concern with the power nexus and the reactions to power is closely related to the question of delimiting the vacillating boundaries of the Ghanaian political community. The capabilities of the political sphere were evaluated in the structural and institutional sections; the limits of the political were discussed in the conceptual and functional chapters. The impact of these structural and substantive boundaries on the definition of membership in the political community can only be assessed by examining the extent of political representation, participation, and discontent over a period of years. Tracing this third, human, boundary may go a long way towards rounding out the understanding of the content, composition, range, and scope of Ghanaian political life.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.