Social policy as nation-building: identity formation, policy feedback, and social citizenship in Ghana

Daniel Béland, Rosina Foli, Michael Kpessa-Whyte

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Beyond economics-centric discourses about issues like “social investment,” in recent years scholars have argued that social programs, like education, healthcare, and income support arrangements, can be instrumental in the construction and reconstruction of national identities and solidarities at both the ideational and the institutional level. Drawing on this scholarship, this article makes a direct contribution to the comparative politics and policy literature by examining the trajectories of nation-building and social policy development in Ghana. It extends existing scholarship by providing an in-depth study of Ghana while using that case to further explore the understudied connection between social citizenship, identity formation, and policy feedbacks from existing social programs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-36
Number of pages18
JournalCanadian Journal of African Studies
Volume52
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2018

Keywords

  • Ghana
  • Ghana
  • citoyenneté sociale
  • nation-building
  • policy feedback
  • politiques sociales
  • rétroactions politiques
  • social citizenship
  • social policy
  • édification de la nation

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