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This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Chieftaincy‐State Relations: Making Political Legitimacy in Ghana’s Fourth Republic Setriakor Dzivenu Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh October, 2011 Declaration This thesis has been composed by myself from the results of fieldwork, except otherwise acknowledged. It has not been submitted in any previous application for a degree. Signed: (Setriakor Dzivenu) Date: 2 Abstract This thesis examines the role of chiefs and chieftaincy in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. It focuses on the interactions between chieftaincy, the state apparatus and society in areas of local government, land administration and democratic politics, using Hohoe and Kumasi as case studies. The central objective is to explore the legitimation processes of chiefs and chieftaincy, especially how chiefs in both areas seek to assert authority with respect to the state and society. By taking a closer look at how chiefs negotiate the modern political order, this research takes a position between those who see chieftaincy as an indigenous institution deserving recognition and protection, and those who view it as incompatible with the modern political dispensation. The research describes how a network of legal and informal strategies has influenced the ways in which state and chiefs interact. By focusing on this interaction, the thesis also reveals the on‐going legitimation processes at the local and national levels in Ghana with respect to chiefs and chieftaincy. The thesis reveals that even though both state actors and chiefs want, and are constitutionally obliged, to exercise political control in certain distinct ways, the reality is that neither is able to do so completely. To remain relevant, both the state and chieftaincy asserted a hybrid authority in their relation with society, thereby blurring the boundaries between their primary identities. Thus rather than establishing a ‘bifurcated state’, these processes revealed a ‘syncretic’ authority relations overlapping in ways that blend political norms, processes and rules associated with each. 3 For Mum, who brought me to the right path & For Chinyere, who made the journey meaningful. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ....................................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 11 List of Diagrams, Maps and Table ............................................................................. 13 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER ONE .............................................................................................................. 15 CHIEFTAINCY, STATE AND THE CASE FOR LEGITIMACY ............................. 15 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 15 1.2 Research Questions .................................................................................................. 19 1.3 Chieftaincy in Ghana: Facts and Fictions .............................................................. 20 1.4 Why Ghana ............................................................................................................... 24 1.5 Making Sense of Resilient Chieftaincy ‐ Existing Theories ................................ 27 1.5.1 The Colonial Legacy ................................................................................................. 29 1.5.2 Weak State ................................................................................................................ 33 1.5.3 Socio‐Economic and Political Developments ........................................................... 35 1.5.4 Chieftaincy Adaptability .......................................................................................... 36 1.6 Multiple Legitimacies Framework ......................................................................... 37 ‐ The Nature of Political Legitimacy ................................................................................. 40 1.6.1 Moral Legitimacy ..................................................................................................... 44 1.6.1.1 Moral Legitimacy in Ghana .................................................................................. 48 1.6.2 Legitimacy as Performance in Ghana ...................................................................... 52 5 1.7 Research Design ....................................................................................................... 54 1.7.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 54 1.7.2 Challenges ................................................................................................................ 62 1.7.3 Case‐Studies ............................................................................................................. 64 1.8 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................................... 70 1.7.1 Chapter One: Chieftaincy, State and the Case for Legitimacy ................................ 70 1.8.2 Chapter Two: The Historical Development of Chieftaincy and the Principle of Unity ................................................................................................................................. 70 1.8.3 Chapter Three: The Making of a Mixed Polity: Transformation and Accommodation of Chieftaincy ......................................................................................... 70 1.8.4 Chapter Four: Chieftaincy and the District Assemblies: Multiple Boundaries and the Ambiguities of Representation .................................................................................... 71 1.8.5 Chapter Five: Chieftaincy and the Economy of Land Resources: Expanding the Parameters of Tradition .................................................................................................... 71 1.8.6 Chapter Six: The Contested Nature of Politics and Democracy in Ghana .............. 71 1.8.7 Chapter Seven: Conclusion: Chieftaincy and the Fourth Republic: Legitimacy in Mixed Polity ..................................................................................................................... 72 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................. 73 THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHIEFTAINCY AND THE PRINCIPLE OF UNITY ................................................................................................. 73 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 73 2.2 The Pre‐Colonial Polity ........................................................................................... 75 2.2.1 The Ideological and Political Imperatives of Unity .................................................. 75 2.2.2 Unity in the Making: Political Legitimacy Prior to Colonialism ............................ 79 ‐ The Emergence of Kumase and Asante ........................................................................... 79 6 ‐ Gbi Polity Formation ...................................................................................................... 86 2.2.3 Order, Consultation, Impartiality and Community Welfare .................................. 90 2.2.4 Decentralisation and Contextual Authority Relations ............................................ 94 2.2.5 Limits of Authority .................................................................................................. 96 2.2.6 The Idea of Chieftaincy ............................................................................................. 97 2.3 Remaking Unity: The Appropriation of Political Traditions in the Colonial Administration ............................................................................................................... 98 2.3.1 The Establishment of Colonial Rule ......................................................................... 98 2.3.2 Unity and Order: The Ideological Foundations of Colonial State ......................... 105 2.3.3 Redefining Consultation, Impartiality, and Community Welfare under the Colonial Rule. .................................................................................................................
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