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Stepping Back from the Brink: A Review of the 2008 Ghanaian Election from the Capital of the Northern Region

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jesse Salah Ovadia

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Abstract

During the 2008 Ghanaian election, the threat of violence in northern Ghana, due to an unresolved chieftaincy dispute in the Dagbon Traditional Area, brought the city of Tamale to the brink of widespread conflict. The dispute divided communities on the basis of religion, familial ties, and partisan affiliation. With high stakes, even higher tensions, and party supporters on both sides organized and armed. This article blends interviews and observations in order to explore what occurred during the election and, more importantly, what did not. While the end result diffused the mounting tensions, the underlying factors that brought the community so close to the brink remain. Moving forward, underdevelopmentand conflict in the north must be addressed in order to ensure peace and stability in the Dagomba Kingdom and throughout the country.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Ovadia JS

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Canadian Journal of African Studies

Year: 2011

Volume: 45

Issue: 2

Pages: 310-340

Print publication date: 01/01/2011

ISSN (print): 0008-3968

ISSN (electronic): 1923-3051

Publisher: Routledge

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00083968.2011.10541057

DOI: 10.1080/00083968.2011.10541057

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