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A dynamic mapping of the political settlement in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Franklin Oduro
  • Mohammed Awal
  • Maxwell Agyei Ashon

Abstract

Ghana displays a number of features of democratic institutionalization and is considered a success story of democratic transformation in Africa. This paper examines the quality of Ghana's political transformation and the nature of its institutions. It seeks to identify the driving power relations and 'ideas' which are shaping Ghana's political and economic development. Following Levy (2012), this involves first framing Ghana as a particular type of competitive clientelist political settlement. The paper also brings agency to the fore by identifying the key actors and members of the ruling coalition that reproduce the political settlement. The final section presents some hypotheses concerning the direct influence of the political settlement on development in Ghana now and in the future. It concludes that in the short- to medium-term Ghana's democratic politics and development will continue to be informed and shaped by a competitive clientelist electoral politics. In the medium- to long-term, however, with the increasingly competitive nature of elections and the continuous expansion of the public space, the character of the political settlement in Ghana will create the incentive structure for the ruling coalition to adopt sustainable policies and strategies towards inclusive development.

Suggested Citation

  • Franklin Oduro & Mohammed Awal & Maxwell Agyei Ashon, 2014. "A dynamic mapping of the political settlement in Ghana," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-028-14, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-028-14
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Petr Kopecký, 2011. "Political Competition and Party Patronage: Public Appointments in Ghana and South Africa," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 59(3), pages 713-732, October.
    2. Augustin Kwasi Fosu, 2009. "Country Role Models for Development Success: The Ghana Case," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2009-42, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Jockers, Heinz & Kohnert, Dirk & Nugent, Paul, 2009. "The Successful Ghana Election of 2008: A Convenient Myth? Ethnicity in Ghana's elections revisited," MPRA Paper 16167, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Arnim Langer, 2009. "Living with diversity: The peaceful management of horizontal inequalities in Ghana," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 534-546.
    5. Robert Darko Osei, 2012. "Aid, Growth and Private Capital Flows to Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-022, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-22 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Mirza Hassan, 2013. "Political settlement dynamics in a limited-access order: The case of Bangladesh," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-023-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    8. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Weingast,Barry R., 2013. "Violence and Social Orders," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107646995, January.
    9. Sandbrook,Richard & Edelman,Marc & Heller,Patrick & Teichman,Judith, 2007. "Social Democracy in the Global Periphery," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521867030.
    10. Osei, Robert, 2012. "Aid, Growth and Private Capital Flows to Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series 022, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Sandbrook,Richard & Edelman,Marc & Heller,Patrick & Teichman,Judith, 2007. "Social Democracy in the Global Periphery," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521686877.
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    Cited by:

    1. Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai & Sam Hickey, 2014. "Rethinking the politics of development in Africa? How the 'political settlement' shapes resource allocation in Ghana," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-038-14, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Giles Mohan & Kojo Pumpuni Asante, 2015. "Transnational capital and the political settlement of Ghana’s oil economy," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-049-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    3. Stephen Brown, 2016. "Putting Paris into practice: Foreign aid, national ownership, and donor alignment in Mali and Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-145, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Resnick, Danielle, 2019. "Strong democracy, weak state: The political economy of Ghana’s stalled structural transformation," IFPRI book chapters, in: Ghana’s economic and agricultural transformation: Past performance and future prospects, chapter 3, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Michael Ehis Odijie & Mohammed Zayan Imoro, 2021. "Ghana’s Competitive Clientelism and Space for Long-Term Stable Policies," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    6. Edward Ampratwum & Mohammed Awal & Franklin Oduro, 2018. "Decentralisation and teacher accountability: How the political settlement shapes governance in the education sector at sub-national levels in Ghana," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-102-18, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    7. Robert Darko Osei & Charles Ackah & George Domfe & Michael Danquah, 2015. "Political settlements, the deals environment and economic growth: The case of Ghana," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-053-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    8. Stephen Brown, 2016. "Putting Paris into practice: Foreign aid, national ownership, and donor alignment in Mali and Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series 145, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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