<em>A Poststructuralist Approach to the Dagbon Chieftaincy Crisis in Northern Ghana</em>

Abstract

The intractable Dagbon Chieftaincy Crisis be - tween the Andani and Abudu families for royal supremacy re- flects the dilemma confronting the relevance of chieftaincy in Ghana in the context of social change. The paper offers a post - structuralist explanation for the succession disputes, po liti cal manipulations, and perennial violence that have contempo- rarily characterized the crisis. It posits that the sources and dy- namics of the crisis are found in the dominant norms, values, traditions, and common history of the Dagbon state. They are located in the cross- generational structural continuities that are drawn upon and reproduced by purposive actors in strategic interdependence at both the local and national levels.