Decoding the Paradox of Decentralization with Centralized Characteristics in Democratic Ghana

Nene Lomotey Kuditchar

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The promise of decentralization is said to lie in the possibility of deepened democratic development. This has been the justification for local government policy designs in Ghana since the 1980s. Three decades on, even though observers detect a paradox of decentralization with characteristics of centralization, no scholarly attempt has been made to resolve the implied contradiction. This chapter seeks to address this lacuna with the contention that notwithstanding government policy designs and intent, decentralization initiatives are not meant to take power to the people per se. Rather, local government initiatives constitute one of several mechanisms through which state elites attempt to extend the reach and control of their power by seeking either to co-opt or corrode primordial systems of political rivalry.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAdvances in African Economic, Social and Political Development
PublisherSpringer Nature
Pages43-62
Number of pages20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Publication series

NameAdvances in African Economic, Social and Political Development
ISSN (Print)2198-7262
ISSN (Electronic)2198-7270

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