This dissertation contributes to the study of Nkrumah’s Pan-African policy by examining the role played by three Ghanaian institutions specifically created to support African liberation and unity:... Show moreThis dissertation contributes to the study of Nkrumah’s Pan-African policy by examining the role played by three Ghanaian institutions specifically created to support African liberation and unity: the Bureau of African Affairs, the African Affairs Centre, and the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute of Winneba.Between 1957 and 1966, these institutions have worked for supporting African liberation movements both in Ghana and on the battlefields. Moreover, they contributed to spread Pan-Africanism and Nkrumahism in the whole continent.After the recovery of important new sources, the author has been able to adopt Accra’s own perspective on the question and to provide an insight into the daily activities of the three institutions examining the impact of their activity on African liberation movements and on the Ghanaian state. Show less
Between 1831 and 1872, the Dutch government recruited 3,000 Africans from the Gold Coast and Ashanti (Ghana) for service in the colonial army in the Netherlands East Indies. The majority of them... Show moreBetween 1831 and 1872, the Dutch government recruited 3,000 Africans from the Gold Coast and Ashanti (Ghana) for service in the colonial army in the Netherlands East Indies. The majority of them were ex-slaves but were promised that their conditions of service would be the same as those of Europeans. With the 'equal treatment' clause, the Dutch government defended itself against British accusations that the recruitment operation amounted to a covert form of slave trading. While this policy made sense in the context of the precolonial relations prevailing in the Gold Coast, its merits were less obvious in the East Indies. The colonial army here was the instrument of empire building but mutinies among African troops stationed on Java and Sumatra caused it to rethink its policy concerning African soldiers. This chapter explores the background to these rebellions. Ref., sum. [Book abstract] Show less
Rev. Mensa Otabil, the founder of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, is considered an influential representative of a new Pentecostal-inspired Pan-Africanist ideology. His book ... Show moreRev. Mensa Otabil, the founder of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, is considered an influential representative of a new Pentecostal-inspired Pan-Africanist ideology. His book 'Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia' lays the foundations of a Pentecostal Liberation Theology that proclaims a Christianized sequel to Pan-Africanism. Operating from Ghana, his ideas for Africa and for 'black consciousness' have spread to Ghanaian migrant communities worldwide. While Otabil has been successful in transforming ownership of the intellectualist production of Pan-Africanism by tailoring it to the needs of the ordinary Pentecostal believer, it has not been adopted so extensively among all Ghanaian migrant communities in the West. By exploring Ghanaian migrant communities and their Pentecostal churches in the Netherlands, where the staunch identity politics of the Dutch government leave little room for the assertive proclamation of 'Africanness', this chapter demonstrates that Otabil's ideas do not act as a main source of inspiration everywhere in the Ghanaian diaspora. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Book abstract] Show less
While the skills of players can be observed on pitches throughout Africa, the actions of those who run the game's administrative side are less visible. Based on anthropological fieldwork in Ghana... Show moreWhile the skills of players can be observed on pitches throughout Africa, the actions of those who run the game's administrative side are less visible. Based on anthropological fieldwork in Ghana and Cameroon, this study's main characters are rich and powerful men who take up positions within clubs and football associations. Through their involvement in football, these African "Big Men" convert symbolic, social and economic capital. In other words, they transform the game's popularity into status and prestige, political power and business opportunities. To this end, they maintain power within football administration through patronage politics. They also tend to resort to foul play. Match-fixing, juju, intimidation and age cheats are some of the methods these Big Men employ in order to achieve their goals. Show less
Between 1831 and 1872 some 3,000 African recruits sailed from Elmina (Gold Coast, now Ghana) to Batavia, the capital of the Netherlands East Indies. They had been recruited to serve in the Dutch... Show moreBetween 1831 and 1872 some 3,000 African recruits sailed from Elmina (Gold Coast, now Ghana) to Batavia, the capital of the Netherlands East Indies. They had been recruited to serve in the Dutch colonial army, which throughout most of the 19th century experienced a chronic shortage of European manpower. The Africans counted as part of the European contingent of the army. After expiry of their contracts, some Africans returned to the Gold Coast, while others opted to settle in the East Indies. They became the founding fathers of the Indo-African communities in the Javanese towns of Purworedjo, Semarang, Salatiga and Solo. On Java, the African soldiers and their descendants became known as 'Belanda Hitam' - black Dutchmen. This chapter outlines the background to the recruitment of Africans for the Dutch colonial army and describes three phases in the recruitment process: a slow start (1831-1836), a massive influx (1837-1841), and smaller-scale recruitment from the late 1850s onwards. After Indonesia's independence in 1949, most Indo-Africans opted for repatriation to the Netherlands. Bibliogr., ref Show less
The recent introduction of capitalist rice farming in the Gbedembilisi Valley (a river valley located in the south-east of the Builsa Traditional Area in the upper Region of Ghana) has given rise... Show moreThe recent introduction of capitalist rice farming in the Gbedembilisi Valley (a river valley located in the south-east of the Builsa Traditional Area in the upper Region of Ghana) has given rise to the emergence of a small class of mainly stranger and partly absentee farmers within local peasant communities. This class of capitalist rice farmers has been highly dependent on local peasant communities for the allocation of land and for the supply of labor. This article shows that land allocation has resulted in: 1) various abuses of "customary" land law by both local chiefs and stranger farmers; 2) a protracted conflict between. local peasant communities, on the one hand, and stranger farmers and the state, on the other, about control over Builsa lands, the so-called Gbedembilisi Valley Dispute; and 3) and attempt by the Builsa Traditional Council to effect changes in the "customary" land law in order to "regulate" land allocation to capitalist rice farmers. Notes. Show less
This paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well... Show moreThis paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well-developed and culturally embedded local institutions that have organized and represented the (informal) workersactive in markets. A prominent example is the market queens, who (cl)aim to oversee, protect and promote markets vis-a-vis the public and the (municipal) government. Yet, these social structures are not easily recognized as a kind of social movement by (inter)national trade unions. Hence trade unioninterventions and outreaches aimed at ameliorating the plight of informal workers tend to bypass and antagonize these existing formations, fuelling competition and division in the already fragmented and inherently competitive market space. Based on 2.5 year-long ethnographic research on strategic actors in inclusive development with a focus on informal workers, this article draws attention to empirical realities in Ghana. It demonstrates that bypassing culturally embedded groups is problematic because it feeds fragmentation and thus limits the possibilities for collective action. Show less
This paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well... Show moreThis paper focuses on informal workers in Makola Market, Accra (Ghana), and the ways in which they organize for collective action. Ghana has a long history of trade and this makes for well-developed and culturally embedded local institutions that have organized and represented the (informal) workersactive in markets. A prominent example is the market queens, who (cl)aim to oversee, protect and promote markets vis-a-vis the public and the (municipal) government. Yet, these social structures are not easily recognized as a kind of social movement by (inter)national trade unions. Hence trade unioninterventions and outreaches aimed at ameliorating the plight of informal workers tend to bypass and antagonize these existing formations, fuelling competition and division in the already fragmented and inherently competitive market space. Based on 2.5 year-long ethnographic research on strategic actors in inclusive development with a focus on informal workers, this article draws attention to empirical realities in Ghana. It demonstrates that bypassing culturally embedded groups is problematic because it feeds fragmentation and thus limits the possibilities for collective action. Show less
Mens, S.P. van; Aryeetey, Y.; Yazdanbakhsh, M.; Lieshout, L. van; Boakye, D.; Verweij, J.J. 2013
This publication provides a set of guiding principles for constitutional reform on the basis of practical experiences of constitutional reform processes in selected countries: Bolivia, Ghana,... Show moreThis publication provides a set of guiding principles for constitutional reform on the basis of practical experiences of constitutional reform processes in selected countries: Bolivia, Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The focus is on the role of political parties in constitution-building processes. The publication shows that although country-specific reform processes may be unique in terms of objectives, context, popular involvement, and achievements, they go through similar phases: preparatory, consultative, drafting, and implementation. All cases illustrate the political nature of constitutional reform and the central role of political parties in the process. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
During the Fourth Republic in Ghana there has been an unprecedented growth in Pentecostalism. The chief message of Pentecostalism is the contestation of tradition. It encourages members to abandon... Show moreDuring the Fourth Republic in Ghana there has been an unprecedented growth in Pentecostalism. The chief message of Pentecostalism is the contestation of tradition. It encourages members to abandon the past and traditions and to adopt a completely new way of life, unemcumbered by the sins of the ancestors. Their rejection of their heritage has erupted into violence in Accra, largely as the result of their transgressing of the ban on drumming and silence during the Homowo Festival. This is an ancient Ga ritual which requires silence and tranquility for more than a month after the ritual planting of the crops. Music, mostly adapted Western music, is essential to Pentecostal services but their pursuit of it during the period of ritual silence led to a violent attack on one of their chapels. On the basis of fieldwork carried out in Accra and among a diaspora community in The Hague, the author draws some conclusions about a number of dialogues which are going on at different levels, more numerous and more complicated than what would appear to have been a fairly simple dispute about the transgressing of ritual silence. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This PhD thesis provides a detailed empirical description and analysis of the Anlo-Ewe beach seine fishery in Ghana. The Anlo-Ewe fishermen operate in a context of declining catches affecting... Show moreThis PhD thesis provides a detailed empirical description and analysis of the Anlo-Ewe beach seine fishery in Ghana. The Anlo-Ewe fishermen operate in a context of declining catches affecting their livelihoods. The study shows how the Anlo-Ewe beach seine fishermen actively negotiate livelihood space in a context of multiple governance structures - including state and non-state authorities and agencies - and migration. - Marloes Kraan studied cultural anthropology at the Free University, Amsterdam, followed by a PhD at the Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan and International Development Studies (AMIDSt) of the University of Amsterdam. Show less
Bruijn, M.E. de; Dijk, J.W.M. van; Dijk, R.A. van 2001
In the literature on population mobility, mobility has generally been seen as a temporary phenomenon. However, in many instances, mobility rather than sedentarity is the norm. This is illustrated... Show moreIn the literature on population mobility, mobility has generally been seen as a temporary phenomenon. However, in many instances, mobility rather than sedentarity is the norm. This is illustrated in the present chapter by two case studies of so-called 'cultures of travel'. The first case concerns the Fulbe, a nomadic cattle-rearing people, in the Hayre area of central Mali. The Fulbe case demonstrates how mobility has been embedded historically in Sahelian cultures under conditions that are marginal, both from an ecological and an economic perspective. It illustrates how people develop economic and cultural strategies marked by a high degree of opportunism. It shows that Fulbe society is, in fact, organized around mobility. The second case, that of Pentecostalism in Ghana, demonstrates how a specific form of culture acts to bring about a particular form of mobility. In this case, it is not a whole culture that is on the move, but individuals who are mobile for personal reasons. Mobility among Ghanaian Pentecostalists is not yet part and parcel of daily life, but presents an example of how people construct cultural forms and means for dealing with everyday problems of mobility. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum Show less
