Ethnicity In Ghana Research Articles

Electoral Politics and Struggles for Accountability

This review essay focuses on electoral politics and the African accountability struggle, which has gained interest and scholarly attention following the third wave of democratization. Before the Namibia Constituent Assembly elections in November 1989, many would agree that elections were neither acknowledged nor considered appropriate for selecting governmental and national leaders. However, the democratic wave in the early 1990s marked a substantial political shift in Africa. Elections, once rare, are now frequent, serving as a crucial tool for both development and accountability. In this new era, citizens have a rare opportunity to hold their leaders accountable and exert control over their behavior. This review specifically addresses two volumes: Electoral Politics and Africa’s Urban Transition: Class and Ethnicity in Ghana by Noah L. Nathan and Elites and the Politics of Accountability in Africa, edited by Wale Adebanwi and Rogers Orock. Specifically, these volumes delve into topics concerning electoral politics and Africa’s challenges in achieving accountability.

Electoral politics and Africa's urban transition: Class and ethnicity in Ghana, Noah L.Nathan. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 2019. 364 pp. $34.99 (paper)

Electoral politics and Africa's urban transition: Class and ethnicity in Ghana, Noah L.Nathan. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 2019. 364 pp. $34.99 (paper)

Individualistic and Collectivistic Orientations: Examining the Relationship between Ethnicity and National Attachment in Ghana

AbstractEthnicity is regarded as the greatest threat to national attachment by both politicians and scholars. However, ethnicity is only one of the many forms of identification which could potentially clash with national attachment. This study therefore examines the relationship between ethnicity and national attachment by asking a general question: what is the impact of alternative group loyalties on national attachment? To answer this question, I develop a measure of national attachment drawing on several sentiments oriented towards the state. Using a survey of 996 university students, I find varying degrees of intensity of the selected identities. Specifically, while descriptive analysis supports recent reports of the declining salience of ethnicity in Ghana, inferential analysis contradicts theoretical expectations that the increasing salience of ethnicity would negatively affect national attachment. Conceptually, it is possible to map the various identities onto a collectivistic‐individualistic scale. Individualistic orientations undermine national attachment, while collectivistic orientations boost it. I argue that rather than being contradictory impulses, ethnicity and national attachment are both underlain by the same collectivistic orientation, pointing to the importance of social rootedness. I deploy qualitative and historical data to give substance and texture to these findings.

Influence of ethnicity on cultural use of pangolins in Ghana and its implications on their conservation

Ethnicity has been documented to have an influence on the selection of medicinal resources and food. Pangolins are scaly mammals widely used for traditional medicine and consumed as bushmeat among local communities across Africa, yet no study has documented the influence of ethnicity on the cultural use of pangolins. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of ethnicity on the cultural use of pangolins in Ghana. Data on the use of pangolin for traditional medicine were gathered from 300 traditional medicinal practitioners from the major ethnic groups in Ghana through semi-structured individual interviews. Also, 150 chopbar operators were interviewed to determine the level of pangolin bushmeat preferences and consumption amongst the different ethnicity in Ghana. Peculiarities in knowledge, ethnic endogamy, inter-ethnic relations, and segregation in the settlement among the various ethnic groups affected the selection and use report of pangolin body parts and the assemblage of ethnic groups. Certain ethnic groups were very similar to one another in the use of pangolin body parts for traditional remedies but other were clearly different. Ethnicity did not have any influence on the consumption of pangolin bushmeat, however, scarceness of pangolin bushmeat was the main factor that affected the frequency of consumption. The findings of this study highlight the importance of cultural uses of pangolins by different ethnicities and how this information can be used to contribute to the design of a more effective and targeted conservation management strategy for these rare mammals.

Mycobacterium africanum Is Associated with Patient Ethnicity in Ghana

Mycobacterium africanum is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and an important cause of human tuberculosis in West Africa that is rarely observed elsewhere. Here we genotyped 613 MTBC clinical isolates from Ghana, and searched for associations between the different phylogenetic lineages of MTBC and patient variables. We found that 17.1% (105/613) of the MTBC isolates belonged to M. africanum, with the remaining belonging to M. tuberculosis sensu stricto. No M. bovis was identified in this sample. M. africanum was significantly more common in tuberculosis patients belonging to the Ewe ethnic group (adjusted odds ratio: 3.02; 95% confidence interval: 1.67–5.47, p<0.001). Stratifying our analysis by the two phylogenetic lineages of M. africanum (i.e. MTBC Lineages 5 and 6) revealed that this association was mainly driven by Lineage 5 (also known as M. africanum West Africa 1). Our findings suggest interactions between the genetic diversity of MTBC and human diversity, and offer a possible explanation for the geographical restriction of M. africanum to parts of West Africa.

The Successful Ghana Election of 2008: A Convenient Myth? Ethnicity in Ghana's Elections Revisited

Ghana’s 2008 elections have been hailed by national and international observers as a mo‐ del for Africa. This perception has prevailed despite persistent concerns about “ethnic block voting” and electoral fraud. Electoral malpractice and vote rigging along ethnic lines in Ghana’s virtual two‐party system could regain decisive importance as a “third force” that could tip the balance in future, possibly coming to represent an even more important factor than the smaller opposition parties. Unfortunate diplomatic and technocratic biases in election monitoring, combined with a reluctance on the part of the responsible authori‐ ties to investigate irregularities in what appears to be a long history of fraudulent “ethnic block voting”, amounts to a dangerous time bomb of unresolved conflict which could ex‐ plode in future elections.

The Successful Ghana Election of 2008 – A Convenient Myth? Ethnicity in Ghana’s Elections Revisited

Ghana’s 2008 elections have been hailed by national and international observers as a model for Africa. This perception has prevailed despite persistent concerns about “ethnic block voting” and electoral fraud. Electoral malpractice and vote rigging along ethnic lines in Ghana’s virtual two-party system could regain decisive importance as a “third force” that could tip the balance in future, possibly coming to represent an even more important factor than the smaller opposition parties. Unfortunate diplomatic and technocratic biases in election monitoring, combined with a reluctance on the part of the responsible authorities to investigate irregularities in what appears to be a long history of fraudulent “ethnic block voting”, amounts to a dangerous time bomb of unresolved conflict which could explode in future elections.

Ethnicity in Ghana: The Limits of Invention

Ethnicity in Ghana: The Limits of Invention

Ethnicity in Ghana: The Limits of Invention

Ethnicity in Ghana: The Limits of Invention

Ethnicity in Ghana: The Limits of Invention

List of Tables List of Maps and Illustrations Foreword Notes on the Contributors Ethnicity in Ghana: A Comparative Perspective C.Lentz & P.Nugent In the Mix: Women and Ethnicity Among the Anlo-Ewe S.Greene 'We Stay, Others Come and Go': Identity Among the Mamprusi in Northern Ghana M.Schlottner Asante Nationhood and Colonial Administrators, 1896-1935 I.Wilks Be(com)ing Asante, Be(com)ing Akan: Thoughts on Gender, Identity and the Colonial Encounter J.Allman Imagined Martial Communities: Recruiting for the Military and Police in Colonial Ghana, 1860-1960 D.Killingray Contested Identities: The History of Ethnicity in Northwestern Ghana C.Lentz 'A Few Lesser Peoples': The Central Togo Minorities and Their Ewe Neighbours P.Nugent The 1994 Civil War in Northern Ghana: The Genesis and Escalation of a 'Tribal' Conflict A.Bogner Promotion of Ghanaian Languages and its Impact on National Unity: The Dagara Language Case S.Bemile Index

The Pattern of Ethnicity in Ghana: a Research Note

In almost any analysis of contemporary African society, ethnic affiliation is an important independent variable. A wide range of behaviour, particularly of a political nature, has been explained and understood in terms of presumed intra-tribal solidarity and inter-tribal tension. Most of the evidence of ethnically-oriented behaviour is drawn from the actions and public rhetoric of political and journalistic élites or, if concerned with the phenomenon on a mass level, is indirect – e.g. inferences from patterns of voting behaviour. There is relatively little in the way of‘hard’ data on the ethnically oriented perceptions of Africans, and it is important that we collect direct evidence of their existence, so as to confirm our inferences based on indirect and impressionistic methodological techniques. One method of obtaining such evidence is by survey research.