Community, Civic Engagement and Democratic Governance in Africa : The Case of Ghana

This book explores how community influences civic engagement, focusing on the case of Ghana. It offers an interdisciplinary perspective to those studying psychology, political development and civic engagement in African countries. Previous research has shown that the social and economic context in which an individual interacts influences their political behaviors and attitudes, and that personal characteristics account for differences in political behavior and attitudes. This work moves away from the cultural demographics of a person, which often take center stage in existing investigations of partisan political behavior in the African context, and addresses the following five questions: (1) To what extent do individual traits influence civic engagement in Ghana? (2) To what extent is community identity similar or different in small rural villages versus large metropolitan areas in Ghana and how does community identity influence civic engagement? (3) To what extent does trust influence civic engagement in Ghana? (4) What factors and activities influence political knowledge and how does political knowledge influence civic engagement? (5) What is the status of women in civic engagement? This book explores how community influences civic engagement, focusing on the case of Ghana. It offers an interdisciplinary perspective to those studying psychology, political development and civic engagement in African countries. Previous research has shown that the social and economic context in which an individual interacts influences their political behaviors and attitudes, and that personal characteristics account for differences in political behavior and attitudes. This work moves away from the cultural demographics of a person, which often take center stage in existing investigations of partisan political behavior in the African context, and addresses the following five questions:(1) To what extent do individual traits influence civic engagement in Ghana? (2) To what extent is community identity similar or different in small rural villages versus large metropolitan areas in Ghana and how does community identity influence civic engagement? (3) To what extent does trust influence civic engagement in Ghana? (4) What factors and activities influence political knowledge and how does political knowledge influence civic engagement? (5) What is the status of women in civic engagement? Mary R. Anderson is Professor Political Science at the University of Tampa, Florida, where she specializes in research on public opinion and civic engagement. Her research has appeared in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Political Psychology, Political Behavior, Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, and the Journal of Human Rights. She is the author of Community Identity and Political Behavior (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) and co-author/co-editor of Meta-Analysis for Public Management and Policy (2013). She teaches courses on public opinion, public policy, and political psychology Kevin S. Fridy is Professor of Political Science at the University of Tampa, Florida. He specializes in West African politics and works on projects dealing with the interactions between society and political institutions. His work has been published in African studies and political science journals such as Journal of Modern African Studies, Democratization, African Affairs, African Studies Quarterly, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, and Journal of African Elections. He has traveled extensively throughout West Africa conducting his research. He teaches courses on African politics, as well as a travel course to Ghana with a focus on political and economic develop development.-- Provided by publisher Acknowledgments 6 Contents 7 About the Authors 8 List of Figures 9 List of Tables 11 1 Introduction 13 Outline of the Book 16 References 17 2 Literature on Civic Engagement 19 Demographics 22 Sense of Community 22 Trust 24 Political Knowledge 26 Personality 27 Women 30 Summary 31 References 32 3 Measuring Civic Engagement 41 The Ghanaian Case 42 Urban Accra and Rural North 43 Measuring Civic Engagement 46 References 49 4 Demographics 52 Overall Demographic Characteristics 53 Demographic Characteristics by Region 55 Demographic-Civic Participation Relationship 59 References 61 5 Sense of Community 62 Analysis 64 Conclusion 73 Appendix A: Sense of Community Index (SCI) 75 Appendix B: Descriptive Statistics of Variables in Models 76 References 76 6 Trust 78 Measuring Approval 80 Analysis 81 Conclusions 85 References 87 7 Political Knowledge 89 Analysis 90 What Ghanaians Know? 92 What Influences Political Knowledge Scores? 93 How Does Political Knowledge Impact Civic Engagement? 97 Conclusions 99 References 101 8 Personality 103 Research Design and Analysis 104 Dependent Variables 107 Conclusion 110 References 112 9 Women 113 Gender and Participation 115 Complicating the Relationship Between Gender and Civic Engagement 116 Conclusions 117 References 118 10 Community Engagement, Civic Education, and Democratic Governance 120 Voices from Within 121 Effective Participation in the Political Process 122 Civic Education and Society 122 A Positive Relationship Between National, Regional, and District Offices Toward Meeting Goals 123 Conclusion 123 Appendix 10A 124 Reference 125 References 126 Index 142