Pan-Africanism in One Country: African Socialism

PAN-AFRICANISM IN ONE COUNTRY: AFRICAN SOCIALISM, NEOLIBERALISM AND GLOBALIZATION IN GHANA A Dissertation Presented by Justin Williams to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University December 2011 UMI Number: 3494778 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3494778 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 Copyright by Justin Williams 2011 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Justin Williams We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Olufemi Vaughan- Dissertation Co-Advisor Professor, Department of History and Africana Studies (Geoffrey Canada Professor of History and Africana Studies, Bowdoin College) Paul Gootenberg- Dissertation Co-Advisor Professor, Department of History Herman Lebovics- Chairperson of Defense SUNY Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, Department of History Floris Cash- Inside Member Professor, Department of Africana Studies Partice Nganang- Outside Member Associate Professor, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School Abstract of the Dissertation “Pan-Africanism in One Country: African Socialism, Neoliberalism and Globalization in Ghana” by Justin Williams Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University 2011 This dissertation is about the changing historical role of Pan-Africanism in Ghanaian politics from the late colonial period to the present. For a variety of reasons, the Republic of Ghana is an ideal site to explore questions about the interplay between Pan-Africanism and globalization. After becoming the first sub- Saharan African nation to gain its independence in 1957, Ghana’s First Republic espoused the core values of African socialism and anti-imperialism and anti- colonial solidarity under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. The realization of independence in Ghana and Nkrumah’s eagerness to sponsor other nationalist movements shifted the center of Pan-African activity from the African diaspora to the continent itself. Despite Nkrumah's authoritarianism and political demise via military coup in 1966, Pan-Africanism remained an important facet of Ghana’s political and economic landscape. This was particularly evident with the end of the Cold War, re-establishment of multi-party democracy and adoption of Africa's most rigorous Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPS) under the auspices of the Breton Woods institutions. This major paradigm shift not only made Ghana a darling of the global donor community, but also created the framework for the nation to become a major site for African-American migration, investment and heritage tourism. In my dissertation, I claim the sum of these interactions between the Ghana and the African diaspora constitute a “free-market Pan-Africanism,” a distinctive cultural product of the age of globalization in direct contrast to the African socialist political project of the Nkrumah era. In the early Ghanaian state, Pan- Africanism was an anti-capitalist and anti-imperial, continental political ideology. My argument is contemporary Ghana deploys Pan-Africanism as a pro-market commodification of culture to serve the greater project of nation building. iii To my family, friends and teachers iv CONTENTS List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………vi Acknowledgments......................................................................................vii Preface.....................................................................................................viii I. The (Anti) Colonial Context, Pan-Africanism and Kwame Nkrumah (1800-1957)………..……………………….……………………………………1 II. The First Republic: Building African Socialism and Continental Unity (1957-1966)…………………………………………………………………….44 III. Busia's Second Republic, The Cold War, Economic Crisis and Ghana's Lost Years (1966-1982)……………………………………………………….84 IV. The Emergence of the “Model” Liberal State (1982Present)..............117 V. A “Free Market Pan Africanism: for the Global Age?..........................160 Appendix A: Map of Ghana………………………………………………….198 Appendix B: Timeline of Important Events...……………..……………….199 References..............................................................................................202 v List of Abbreviations AFRC Armed Forces Revolutionary Council AU African Union CIA Central Intelligence Agency CPP Convention People’s Party ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States ERP Economic Recovery Program EU European Union HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Countries IMF International Monetary Fund NDC National Democratic Congress NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development NLC National Liberation Council NPP New Patriotic Party NRC National Redemption Council OAU Organization of African Unity PNDC Provisional National Defence Council PP Progress Party SAPS Structural Adjustment Programs SMC Supreme Military Council UGCC United Gold Coast Convention UP United Party UN United Nations vi Acknowledgments The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the generous assistance of many people throughout the years. First, I would like to thank the faculty of Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri for giving me an excellent liberal arts education. In particular, Brad Lookingbill was instrumental in inspiring me to pursue my career as a historian. As a graduate student at Stony Brook University, Herman Lebovics, Brooke Larson and Floris Barnett-Cash all played an indispensable role in helping me make the transition from student to scholar. Paul Gootenberg was invaluable in helping me shape this project into a viable research prospectus, introducing me to relevant scholarship on Latin America and lending a helping hand to countless drafts. Bowdoin College's Olufemi Vaughan deserves special recognition for introducing me to the field of African studies and selflessly agreeing to serve as my advisor despite his departure from Stony Brook and a notoriously busy schedule. Also of special note is Patrice Nganang, who selflessly and graciously agreed to serve as a member of my dissertation committee. The research phase of this project was made possible by the aid of many people in both the United States and Ghana. Angel Batiste at Africa and Middle East Reading Room at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and the staff of the Schomburg Center for the Study of Black Culture in Harlem, New York were both extremely helpful. In Ghana, I would like to thank Anne Adams at the W.E.B Du Bois Centre for Pan-African Culture, Josiah Gymiah at Ghana’s Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) and Mr. Raymond Agbo at the National Museum of Ghana. vii Preface And these men of Indostan Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong! -John Godfrey Saxe, “The Blind Men and the Elephant”1 “Pan-Africanism, general term for various movements in Africa that have as their common goal the unity of Africans and the elimination of colonialism and white supremacy from the continent. However, on the scope and meaning of Pan-Africanism, including such matters as leadership, political orientation, and national as opposed to regional interests, they are widely, often bitterly, divided.” -“Pan-Africanism” the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia2 Since Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana, Pan-Africanism and their historic ties to African-Americans are among the most studied topics by scholars interested in modern Africa and black internationalism, an unavoidable preliminary question is; what about this dissertation is new? As the Stalinist inspired title of this dissertation and end John Godfrey Saxe's version of the old fable imply, I took a decidedly multi-faceted approach to 1 John Godfrey Saxe, The Poems of John Godfrey Saxe: Complete in One Volume (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1868), 260. 2 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Columbia University Press, 2007. viii the topic of Pan-Africanist discourses in Ghana since the late colonial period to the present which uncovers new information about previously studied topics. Much like Joseph Stalin's doctrine of “Socialism in One Country” in the Soviet Union, Ghana’s First Republic also attempted to use the development of a single nation-state as a base for exporting a set of transnational economic and political ideas. Despite the end of Nkrumah's government via a military coup in 1966, Pan-Africanist ideas remained an important feature of Ghana's politics through the present. The ways in which these ideas were expressed however, have been tempered by major geopolitical developments such as two World Wars, African decolonization, the Cold War and globalization. In essence, this dissertation is novel because I chose to trace the historical trajectory of a set of transnational, multi-disciplinary ideas within the context of a single nation-state's development, while paying significant attention

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