Democratic backsliding and public administration: the experience of Ghana

Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah, Philip Asare Baidoo, Kwame Asamoah

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Democratic backsliding has been a phenomenon occurring in many jurisdictions in the developed and developing world. Deploying a framework by Levitsky and Ziblatt [2018. How Democracies Die. New York: Penguin Random House], the study evaluates the nature of democratic backsliding in Ghana focusing on the strategies deployed by political leaders in Ghana to systematically erode and weaken professionalism in the public administration. The study uses relevant democracy indicators and datasets as well as other secondary data to establish a pattern of democratic backsliding in Ghana 2017–2023 with a corresponding impact on the quality of public administration and people’s declining trust in them. The study calls for constitutional measures to tame the excessive powers of the executive as well as active role of civil society to call government out to prevent some of the democratic backsliding tendencies.

Original languageEnglish
JournalPolicy Studies
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2025

Keywords

  • Democratic backsliding
  • neutrality
  • professionalism
  • public administration
  • trust

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