Imagining Citizenship and Belonging in Ghana

In recent times, questions about who should be considered an insider and who an outsider have come to dominate political debates across the world. In postcolonial countries like Ghana where the modern state is built upon pre-existing social formations, there are anxieties that national attachment would be eclipsed by the strength of ethnic ties. However, this article presents qualitative evidence that suggests that individuals were inspired to a stronger attachment to the national state because, not in spite, of their keen awareness of the ‘inauthenticity’ of the national state.