Ethnic plurality, political mobilisation, social divisions and the formation of conflict structures in North-Eastern Ghana

Abstract

Political mobilisation is a necessary aspect of any democracy in the world. Since the introduction of democracy in Ghana, political mobilisation has become part of the political process that characterises the selection and choice of leaders. This phenomenon manifests itself differently in different geographical areas of the country. While processes of political mobilisation have received adequate academic attention, the extent to which they are immersed in coincidental ethnic cleavages to engender the formation of conflict structures in the specific region of the Bawku/Kusaug Traditional Area is less studied. This study contributes to the critical literature on political mobilisation by nuancing the debate on political mobilisation to include how political mobilisation reinforces ethnic division and creates contours and pathways through which ethnic conflicts inchoate and sophisticate. The study used a case study design of the qualitative approach to investigate the phenomenon. Twenty-seven participants were selected through an expert purposive sampling technique to partake in focus group discussions and personal interviews. The data collected through these methods were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that political mobilisation in Bawku is often anchored through the ethnic elite who mobilise their people along ethnic lines for or against specified political parties. This often creates different political rewards for each ethnic group depending on the political party that emerge victorious in elections. These differential rewards lead to violent confrontations with several economic, social and security consequences. The study therefore suggested strategies to better anchor political mobilisation and ensure peaceful co-existence among ethnic groups in the Bawku/Kusaug Traditional Area, the Upper East, Northern Ghana and Ghana as a whole