Chieftain, Volume 1, 2004-
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Item Open Access Ethno-Politicization in the 1994- 1995 Case of Conflict in Northern Ghana: The Role of Youth Associations and Faith-Based Organizations(2012-06-15T16:09:39Z) Kaye, JulieMost large-scale ethnic conflicts move beyond state-centric issues to involve a variety of actors, issues, and motives. In Northern Ghana, the protracted conflicts of the 1980s and 1990s were altercations between ethno-politicized communities seeking to either maintain “traditional” authority over neighbouring groups or obtain autonomy and recognition within the “traditional” system of rule. This article relies on theories of ethnic conflict that underscore the importance of inequality between groups and thereby considers both remote and immediate factors underlying the 1994-1995 conflict in Northern Ghana as well as the role played by key actors in framing ethno-political identities leading up to the conflict.Item Open Access Chiefs in Post-Colonial Ghana: Exploring different elements of the identity, inequalities and conflicts nexus in the Northern Region(2007-02-06T01:25:07Z) Joseph Manboah-RocksonBy the mid-1990s Ghanaian ethnic groups were (re)discovering chieftaincy on a wide front and looking to traditional ‘chiefly’ structures as part of a move towards more extensive political indulgence. In this paper, the author examines the discussion of traditional authority in anthropological literature, examines the emerging political discourse on ‘chiefs’ within Ghana, and comments on its contemporary political significance. The author looks at the following: Konkombas, described here as “Bigmen” and traditional chiefs in post-colonial society, and contestable issues of land, marriages, extortions in traditional judicial courts, and ‘taxation’; as they impact the co-existence of the ethnic groups in the Northern Region of Ghana. It remains to be seen whether the clamour for traditional leadership by so-called ‘stateless’ groups, represents a permanent change in the nature of Ghana’s political system, or whether it is primarily philosophical and semantic in nature.Item Open Access Traditional Authorities Applied Research Network, Second Report(2007-02-06T01:17:10Z) K. O. Lefenya; Department of Political Science; Faculty of Social Sciences; University of Durban - WestvilleItem Open Access Report on the TAARN Conference on the Role of Ghanaian Rulers as Development Officers(2007-02-06T01:16:49Z) Dr. Wilhelmina Donkoh; Department of General and African; Faculty of Social Sciences; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and TechnologyIn June 2001, as part of the second phase of the research activities of the TAARN (Ghana Team), invitations were sent to the ten Regional Houses of Chiefs asking them to send three traditional rulers each – a paramount, divisional and female leader – to represent their region. The central objective was to examine the changing role of traditional rulers in Ghana as the democratic order advances in the country. The traditional office holders were invited to join in the attempt to define their role as heads of their polities within the the framework of developmental efforts by the central government and its agencies. To enable traditional rulers to function effectively, it was generally agreed that they should be empowered to enable them play their role as dynamic agents for development.Item Open Access Re-inventing African Chieftaincy in the Age of AIDS, Gender and Development. Volume I. Overview(2006-06-13T18:42:51Z) Ray, D.I.; Quinlan, T.; Sharma, K.Traditional leaders are re-inventing themselves and their offices in terms of how they promote development for their communities. The IDRC-funded research found that in Botswana, Ghana and South Africa, traditional leaders remain, for a variety of reasons, important to the design and implementation of development regardless of whether or not traditional leaders have statutory jurisdiction granted by the post-colonial state. Traditional leaders seek to be active collaborators in development interventions.Item Open Access Queen Mothers and Social Workers: A Potential collaboration between traditional authority and social work in Ghana(2005-10-06T16:44:27Z) Kreitzer, LindaKingship (chieftaincy) is an institution that has existed since ancient times in Africa (Kludze, 2000). It is an institution that has played a major role in many Ghanaian ethnic groups as the governor of customary law. Important to traditional authority is the Queen Mother. She is the biological mother or close relation to the chief and offers advice and counsel to him. Today they have many roles in their communities including being diplomats and mediators as well as overseeing the welfare of women and children in the community. Western style social work has been present in West Africa since the 1940's encouraged by the United Nations and the Association of Social Work Educators in Africa. Social workers have been trained in Ghana since 1946 and work in government and non-government organizations. The development of communities and the social welfare of women and children are of concern to social workers as well as to Queen Mothers. In 2002, a group of social work researchers met for ten months to look at the indigenisation of social work curriculum in Ghana with a Queen Mother as part of this group. This article describes the important dialogue between social workers and the Queen Mother concerning their roles in the community with potential future collaboration with each other that would enhance community development.Item Open Access UNPACKING THE CONCEPT OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY:(2004-07-27) Hatt, Doyle