Premium
The overwhelming minority: Inter‐ethnic conflict in Ghana's Northern Region
Author(s) -
Jönsson Julia
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.1577
Subject(s) - ethnic group , politics , ethnic conflict , narrative , inequality , political economy , political science , guinea fowl , internal conflict , development economics , sociology , law , economics , medicine , mathematical analysis , philosophy , linguistics , mathematics , veterinary medicine
Abstract In Ghana historical and modern legal and political circumstances have contributed to violent conflicts being structured around chiefs and tradition. Horizontal inequalities and local rivalries provide material for conflict narratives which in turn interact with national party politics, giving rise to the threat of inter and intra‐ethnic violence being triggered by contentious events. By analysing the background to the series of inter‐ethnic conflicts in the Northern Region which culminated in the 1994–1995 ‘Guinea Fowl War’ this paper examines how traditional and modern politics interact in Ghana and how they generate the categories and dynamics that fuel conflict. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.