Critical Perspectives In Politics And Socio-economic Development In Ghana Critical Perspectives On Politics And Socio-economic Development In Ghana

This volume provides a comprehensive and integrated analysis of Ghanaian politics, economy and society, outlining tensions, dilemmas and prospects with which the country has to contend. The chapters critically examine: the performance and prospects of democratic institutions and processes; responses to, and impact of, economic policies and programmes; and how culture intersects with the preceding developments to shape socio-economic and political institutions and practices. Divided into four thematic sections, this collection combines rich, empirical material with theoretical analyses and brings interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on the issues examined. Contents 8 Acknowledgements 12 List of Abbreviations 14 List of Tables, Boxes and Figures 16 Note on Contributors 18 Introduction – Ghana and the Experience of 'Development' 23 SECTION ONE – POLITICS, THE STATE AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION 41 Chapter One – Capitalism Incomplete: State, Culture and the Politics of Industrialization 43 Chapter Two – Local Government, Decentralization and State Capacity in Ghana 67 Chapter Three – The Mass Media, Political Expression and Democratic Transition 105 Chapter Four – Ethnicity and the Development of National Consciousness: A Human Factor Analysis 129 SECTION TWO – ECONOMIC CRISIS AND NEO-LIBERAL REFORMS: RESPONSES AND IMPLICATIONS 155 Chapter Five – State-NGO Relations and Agricultural Sector Development 157 Chapter Six – The Implications of State Policy for Micro-Enterprise Development 175 Chapter Seven – "A Plurality of Resistances" to Economic Reform: The Case of State-Owned Enterprises 199 Chapter Eight – Creative Allocation of Space as a Response to Economic Crisis 223 Chapter Nine – Demographic Processes, Economic Growth and Socio-Economic Development in Ghana, 1960–2000 245 SECTION THREE – INDIGENOUS INSTITUTIONS AND THE SHAPING OF DEVELOPMENT 261 Chapter Ten – Chiefs in Their Millennium Sandals: Traditional Authority in Ghana – Relevance, Challenges and Prospects 263 Chapter Eleven – Land Tenure and Agricultural Development in Ghana: The Intersection of Class, Culture and Gender 295 Chapter Twelve – Citizenship, Customary Law and Gendered Jurisprudence: A Socio-Legal Perspective 327 SECTION FOUR – CULTURE, INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOPMENT 355 Chapter Thirteen – Is Culture the Obstacle to Development in Ghana? A Critique of the Culture-Development Thesis as it Applies to Ghana and South Korea 357 Chapter Fourteen – Critical Teaching in an African Context: Local Knowledge and Educational Reforms 387 Chapter Fifteen – Environmentalism and Cultural Change: The Role of the Mass Media 411 References 435 Index 471 A 471 B 471 C 471 D 471 E 471 F 471 G 471 H 472 I 472 J 472 K 472 L 472 M 472 N 472 O 472 P 472 Q 472 R 472 S 472 T 473 U 473 V 473 W 473 Capitalism incomplete: state, culture and the politics of industrialization / Bruce J. Berman Local government, decentralization and state capacity in Ghana / Joseph R.A. Ayee The mass media, political expression and democratic transition / Wisdom J. Tettey Ethnicity and the development of national consciousness: a human factor analysis / Senyo Adjibolosoo State-NGO relations and agricultural sector development / Korba P. Puplampu The implications of state policy for micro-enterprise development / Peter Arthur "A plurality of resistances" to economic reform: the case of state-owned enterprises / Edna D. Djokoto-Asem Creative allocation of space as a response to economic crisis / Kobena T. Hanson Demographic processes, economic growth and socio-economic development in Ghana, 1960-2000 / Baffour K. Takyi, Isaac Addai Chiefs in their millennium sandals: traditional authority in Ghana: relevance, challenges and prospects / Donald I. Ray Land tenure and agricultural development in Ghana: the intersection of class, culture and gender / Louis Awanyo Citizenship, customary law and gendered jurisprudence: a socio-legal perspective / Charlotte Kesson-Smith, Wisdom J. Tettey Is culture the obstacle to development in Ghana? A critique of the culture-development thesis as it applies to Ghana and South Korea / Henry M. Codjoe Critical teaching in an African context: local knowledge and educational reforms / George J. Sefa Dei Environmentalism and cultural change: the role of the mass media / Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo.

This volume provides a comprehensive and integrated analysis of Ghanaian politics, economy and society, outlining tensions, dilemmas and prospects that the country has to contend with. The chapters critically examine the performance and prospects of democratic institutions and processes; responses to, and impact of, economic policies and programs; and how culture intersects with the preceding developments to shape socio-economic and political institutions and practices. The collection is divided into four thematic sections:
Politics, the State and Democratic Consolidation Economic Crisis and Neo-Liberal Reforms: Responses and Implications Indigenous Institutions and the Shaping of Development Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Development It combines rich, recent, empirical material with sophisticated theoretical analyses, and brings unique interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on the issues examined.

Annotation Characterizing Ghana's development experiences as "very difficult and equivocal," Tettey (communication and culture, U. of Calgary, Canada), Puplampu (Grant MacEwan College, Canada), and Berman (political studies, Queen's U., Canada) present fifteen chapters that critically examine Ghana's past four decades in relation to the performance and prospects of democratic institutions of the state and wider society; the urban and rural impact of economic crisis and neoliberal economic policies, the relationship between development and pre- colonial indigenous institutions, and the relationship between indigenous culture and knowledge and Western modernity. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) This volume provides a comprehensive and integrated analysis of contemporary Ghanaian politics and economy and their relationship to culture. It combines rich, recent, empirical material with sophisticated theoretical analyses, bringing fresh and unique interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on the issues examined.