Negotiating Power and Inequality in Ghana: Electricity and Citizenship as Reciprocity

In Ghana, much as in other parts of the Global South, postcolonial leaders aimed for industrial growth through the establishment of affordable hydroelectric power. However, in the current rapidly changing climate, many nations face recurring droughts, which hinder electricity production just when demand is on the rise. This situation has led to challenges like load shedding and unplanned power outages, which have strained the bond between citizens and the government.

Negotiating Power and Inequality in Ghana aims to unravel the puzzling reality that, despite enduring increasing difficulties from these electricity shortages, the Ghanaian citizens who suffer most harshly are also the least likely to demand political accountability from the state. Drawing on archival evidence, focus groups, qualitative interviews, survey data, and contemporary art and music, author Lauren M. MacLean explains how this disparity in experience--fueled by differences in income and geographical location--has led lower- and higher-income Ghanaians to form contrasting perspectives on their social rights regarding public services and to adopt varying approaches to political involvement. Rather than relying on a predetermined social contract, citizens in Ghana develop a more fluid relationship with the state, shaped by their histories, identities, and personal experiences. This reciprocity highlights their awareness of how climate change and the global shift toward green energy can significantly impact their lives while also underscoring the necessity for the government to take the lead and engage with Ghanaians to promote climate justice.

Targeted at a diverse audience that includes academics, policymakers, activists, and the general public, Negotiating Power and Inequality in Ghana encourages readers to gain insight into the dynamics that lead to political crises and to explore potential solutions to energy poverty in a time marked by increasing inequality and global climate challenges.

Lauren M. MacLean is the Dean’s Professor of Political Economy and Civic Engagement and Department Chair of Political Science at Northeastern University. She is author of Informal Institutions and Citizenship in Rural Africa, (with Melani Cammett) The Politics of Non-State Social Welfare, and (with Diana Kapiszewski and Benjamin L. Read) Field Research in Political Science.