Student Activism and Democratic Quality in Ghana's Fourth Republic

Autor/in	Van Gyampo, Ransford Edward
Titel	Student Activism and Democratic Quality in Ghana's Fourth Republic
Quelle	In: Journal of Student Affairs in Africa, 1 (2013) 1-2, S.49-66 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2307-6267
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Activism; Student Role; History; Democracy; Political Issues; Educational History; Qualitative Research; Interviews; Violence; College Students; Higher Education; Politics of Education; Civil Rights; Equal Education; Accountability; Participation; Ghana + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Aktivismus; Politischer Protest; Geschichte; Geschichtsdarstellung; Demokratie; Politischer Faktor; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Qualitative Forschung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Gewalt; Collegestudent; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Bürgerrechte; Grundrechte; Zivilrecht; Verantwortung; Teilnahme
Abstract	Student activism has been pivotal in Ghana's political and democratic history. Prior to Ghana's Fourth Republic, student activism was highly confrontational and entailed student support or opposition to the various regimes depending on the extent to which the regimes were accepted by all as being rightful or legitimate. After 23 years of uninterrupted constitutional democracy, Ghana has earned the accolade of being a successful electoral democracy. However, in terms of democratic progression, the mere conduct of periodic elections that sometimes lead to alternation of power is described as elementary and a low quality democracy. Given that Ghana's democratisation process since 1992 has not been static, some remarkable strides have been made in improving the nation's democratic quality. Using a purely qualitative research design and interviews with some former student activists, this study argues that the modest strides made in the quest for high quality liberal democracy in Ghana cannot be meaningfully discussed without acknowledging the invaluable contributions of student activism. The study further suggests a relationship between democratic quality and student activism. It postulates that the shift from the usually oppositional and sometimes violent student activism in Ghana's Fourth Republic could partially be attributed to the country's strides made in the drive towards democratic maturity. For students to continue their role as vanguards of democracy in Ghana, the study recommends an amalgamation of all tertiary networks and other student splinter groups under the National Union of Ghana Students; and a shift in the "modus operandi" of the Union from confrontation to the use of dialogue and other peaceful democratic means to achieve its objectives. This could contribute to the restoration of the Union's former glory as a united, national and independent mouth-piece of students in all national issues. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	University of Stellenbosch. 15A Bosman Street, Private Bag X1, Matieland ZA-7602, South Africa. Tel: +27-833505959e-mail: jsaa_editor@outlook.com; Web site: http://www.jsaa.ac.za/index.php/jsaa/index
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01