One‐party state, no‐party state, multi‐party state?: 35 years of democracy, authoritarianism and development in Ghana

Abstract

Ghana was the first sub‐Saharan African country to attain independence in 1957. The victorious independence party, the Convention People's Party led by Kwame Nkrumah, ruled with a Marxist orientation until 1966. Since late 1981 the country has been ruled by the PNDC government of Flt.‐Lt. Jerry Rawlings. At the onset of PNDC rule, the dominant ideology appeared to be a variant of Marxism‐Leninism. Over the next ten years, however, the regime presided over a number of policy changes: the adoption of an IMF‐supported economic recovery programme; political decentralization; multi‐party politics. The PNDC government has been applauded for its flexibility and criticized for its authoritarianism, as it performed political somersaults against a background of economic decline and political failure.