Ghana Observed: Essays on the Politics of a West African Republic

Abstract

Both before and after its independence in I957, Ghana exerted an influence out of all proportion to its size and population. Not only was it the first subSaharan state to achieve independence, but its first President was a flamboyant and outspoken activist who attempted to implement controversial policies both within Ghana and on the African and world stages. Now, two decades later, Ghana is still trying to recover from the excesses of those years. Although still influential, the country is no longer prominent in international affairs, nor a major force even in African politics, but is rather and is seen to be a 'small West African Republic'. Ghana no longer holds the same fascination for the outside world; the economy has not changed significantly in nearly 15 years, and stagnation seems to characterise the political situation as well. The Ghanaphiles of the I95os and early I96os gave way to the Tanzanophiles in the late I96os and early 1970S, and even Ghana's friends begin to despair that it can soon find a way out of the morass of past failures. Certainly one cannot emerge very optimistic from a reading of recent works on Ghanaian politics. Dennis Austin's long acquaintance with Ghana gives him unequalled qualifications for the role as doyen of observers of the local political scene. He first arrived there in I949, during the early stages of the tumultuous nationalist period, and left after spending ten years as an extra-mural tutor for the University College. This position offered him the unique opportunity to know intimately not only Legon and Accra, but also Ashanti and the North, where he taught and travelled extensively. He returned to Ghana on visits in 1969 and 1975. If the breadth of his knowledge and experience was revealed most thoroughly in Politics in Ghana, 1946-1960 (first published in 1964), it is also reflected in Ghana Observed, his collection of essays which have appeared in various journals between 1957 and I975. Included also are two previously unpublished works: a seminar paper on 'The Convention People's Party in 1958', and a study of the 1969 election in the Paga-Chiana constituency of the Upper Region, entitled 'A Northern Contest'. The essays span a quarter of a century and examine the six different political regimes which Ghanaians have witnessed. Included are assessments of national parties, both government and opposition, Ghanaian politics in general at various times (1958, I964, 1969, I972), local politics and elections, and the two military coups. The final essay, published in 1975, is a personal account of the complex 344 PAUL LADOUCEUR