Ghana’s Foreign Policy Under Military Regimes, 1966-1993: An Historical Review

Abstract

This paper probes the foreign policy objectives of military regimes in Ghana from 1966 to 1993. The mid-sixties and early-nineties saw Africa and Latin America challenging each other for an accolade of notoriety as the continent with the most military coup d'états. Though most of the military disturbances in Francophone Africa could barely provoke any serious expert analysis, the revolts in Ghana and Nigeria had given many military pundits a different dimension of the militarization of African politics. As a 65-year-old sovereign state, Ghana has witnessed four military regimes: 1966–1969, 1972–1979, 1979, and 1981–1993. These politics of military takeovers were always blamed on economic mismanagement and administrative abuse of power. Indeed, Ghana’s economy since independence in 1957 has suffered several setbacks as far as steady economic growth is concerned. As the country celebrated its 65th independence day on 6 March 2022, amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic, this study seeks to retrace the political steps of the country since independence; focusing on the foreign policy of the military regimes within the last six decades. The paper intends to prove that just as military officers lack political legitimacy to govern, they are hardly the right actors to make successful foreign policy decisions.