Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-16-2015
Abstract
This paper interrogates the influence of Western forms of democracy on ethnic conflicts in Africa through a case study of Ghana’s adoption of multiparty democracy between 1992 and 2012. It discusses the transition of African traditional systems of government before, during, and after colonization. The paper also shows how democracy, by definition and in terms of governance, cannot solely be a Western idea since many African societies had democratic elements in their systems of government before the arrival of the Europeans. Relying on qualitative secondary data, and the analysis of fierce and acrimonious competition that have characterized multiparty democratic elections in postindependence Ghana as case study, the paper inquires if there is any relationship between ethnic rivalries and conflicts in many African states and the Western-style democratic system.
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