Question

In not more than twenty (20) words, state the theses of the following passages. Each thesis should be strong, precise and researchable.
Question 3 (a)
We wish to interrogate the effects of societal polarization – albeit negatively – the unending demand of citizens for probity and accountability from political leadership in Ghana. Encapsulating the political culture or attitude of the Ghanaian since the introduction of multi-party democracy in the 1950s are the elements of societal polarization, contestations and overtly partisan support to political parties, candidates and public policies. Evidence abound and points to the fact that societal polarization in many states have slowed down economic development. Societal polarization in Ghana has risen to a crescendo in recent times to the extent that supporters throng to the premises of security agencies to demand the release of their political ‘idols’ under investigation for financial malfeasance, and this phenomenon has become rife and ingrained in the Ghanaian society over the past two decades. A political party in government is usually accused of persecuting political opponents for political advantage. Consequently, succeeding governments are usually lackadaisical in demanding probity and accountability within the governing party and past public officials. This creates a problem in the quest to citizens’ demand for probity and accountability from public office holders.
Question 3 (b)
Our paper seeks to delineate the lived experiences, challenges and coping strategies of female police officers in a District Command of the Ghana Police Service in Accra-Ghana. The qualitative in-depth interview method was used to select 20 female police officers from five police stations purposively with in-depth interviews as the data collection instrument. The paper concluded that, the respondents had cherished experiences as policewomen such as the respect, recognition and assistance from the public. However, they experienced police operational challenges including intimidation by senior officers, challenge of combining work with family responsibilities, gender stereotypes and discriminations as well as occupational stress. The paper recommended among others the need for a quota for female recruitment and periodic seminars on stress management and coping strategies.
Question 3 (c)
Over the past four decades, Northern Ghana has been in a state of atrophy and turmoil due to intermittent conflicts. To combat these conflicts, the government and the security agencies deployed security personnel to the conflict zones to prevent conflagration and escalation, to “engineer” ceasefires, and to maintain law and order. Strategies employed by the security agencies to combat conflicts in Northern Ghana were varied, but, in general, the imposition of curfews, undertaking patrols, mounting surveillance and checkpoints, “engineering” ceasefire pacts, and undertaking swoops, were utilized by the security agencies. Scholars have critiqued the mechanics of security measures applied to conflicts in Northern Ghana, noting the measures and evaluating their successes and failures.
Question 3 (d)
Increasingly, the practice of democracy in the political arena of the African region is gaining grounds even though only a few nations in Africa have been successful in running regular, free and fair elections. However, one cannot tell with an overarching generalized empirical support what influences the electorate when voting for a candidate in an election. Consequently, Newman and Sheth (1985) model was adapted to understand the factors that affect voters’ choice in Ghanaian presidential elections. This study therefore aimed at identifying the factors that influence voter’s choice of a presidential candidate in Ghana, and determine whether these factors influence the voting decision of card bearing members of political parties differently from non-card bearing members. A two-stage approach in Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using Amos 21, by means of method-maximum likelihood estimation, was used to analyze the survey responses. Primary data was purposively drawn from three hundred respondents pursuing various academic programmes and who are eligible to vote from the University of Ghana, to provide a rich Ghanaian context. It was found that, issues and policies, emotional feelings, personal events, manifestoes and also media (except candidate’s image and identity factors) influenced voter intentions. The study also found that except media, there was no significant difference between card bearing and non-card bearing members with respect to their voter intentions. For future studies, it is recommended that a similar study be conducted on a broader population (a non-student sample) to further validate the findings of this study or otherwise.
Question 3 (e)
Political party vigilantism has often been treated as a mere political phenomenon much to the neglect of the historical context and social structures that perpetuate it. It is underpinned by historical and social conditioning and the relationship needs to be explored and appreciated in order to deal with it. The social variable of political vigilantism is reinforced by rational calculation of the actors: in terms of the political benefit that will accrue to them but also the societal and state response to their actions. Where citizens seem to accept the actions of party vigilante groups as the norm rather than an exception to societal values and behaviour, they are encouraged to carry on. Also, when state’s response to party vigilante groups is politically-driven and hypocritical, it emboldens them to undermine the Constitution, disturb democratic norms and principles and compete with the state for the monopoly of violence. This has the potential of not only undermining democratic consolidation but also reversing democratic gains and hurting societal moral norms and values. This paper did a historical path tracing of the activities of vigilante groups in Ghana, examine the social and political structures that underpin them and interrogates their implication on governance.
Question 3 (f)
The consistent conduct of free, fair and transparent election provides a solid foundation for sustaining a country’s democracy, while an important dimension of the election process is a robust institutional architecture to manage post-election conflicts (Mietzner, 2010; Omotola, 2010). Managing post-election conflicts, an aspect of Ghana’s electoral politics shot into prominence during the maiden presidential election petition subsequent to the 2012 general elections. Despite the relevance of this post-electoral phenomenon, extant literature on Ghana and elsewhere have made modest efforts in discussing the issues generally (Asante & Asare, 2017; Aggrey-Darko & Asah-Asante, 2017; Omotola, 2010; Ayelazuno, 2011; Fjelde & Hoglund, 2014; Kotey, 1995; Onoja, 2009; Zounmenou & Lamin, 2011). This study departs from the above works by focusing on the nature of the phenomenon in twenty first century Ghana. The study seeks to specifically examine how the interactions of key actors within the existing institutional structures have played out in respect to post-election conflicts resolution in Ghana. How has these interactions contributed to Ghana’s journey towards democratic consolidation? And what lessons can be drawn from this experience for the future? Question 3 (g)
The increasing pervasiveness of religion in politics in Ghana in recent times requires an interrogation. A historical survey reveals that religion played a significant role in the social and political development of the country. This is evident in the numerous interventions religion and religious people contributed to the running of elections in Ghana, in the form of corporate religious activities such as prayer and meditation. Interestingly, there is an upsurge of the involvement of religion and the participation of religious people in Ghanaian politics in the 21st Century. What are the prophetic utterances and prophecies made by ‘men of God’ in a bid to spiritually forecast the outcome of general elections?
Question 3 (h)
An Nzema proverb literally translates that it is because of bad deeds that is why each individual bears a name. This proverb has near acceptability and usage in almost all Ghanaian societies, and it alludes to individual accountability for acts of omission and commission. Meanwhile, in Ellembelle Nzema, some things never lose currency and these include giving birth to children, ngakula ewole, a mother’s love, ninli elole and a good name, duma kpale. The organic link between the three preceding values in Ellembelle Nzema is epitomised in the use of teknonyms whereby parents are called by the names of their offspring. Teknonymy is gendered, denoting both femininity and masculinity and can also be the indicator of parental identity and responsibility. Also, teknonymy is linked to pride of motherhood, and identified with fecundity such that the urgent sense of legitimacy of offspring and ownership of children is incontestable. In the case of fathers, identity reflects in their ability to bequeath some appointive political offices to their children in a matrilineal society such as Ellembelle Nzema. Central to this study is the supposition that teknonymy is an indicator of identity, a mark of parental responsibility –both associative and distributive – and a kind of social ridicule and diminution in worth reflects on parents for the anomie of their children.
Question 3 (i)
Africa has experienced numerous acts of terrorism over the last two decades, which has resulted in death, destruction and growing instability across the continent. Terrorism has been prevalent in the North, Sahel, West, East and the Horn of Africa, creating a continental dilemma and threatening the political, social and economic security of states (Aubyn, 2018). The futility of the traditional firefighting approach has projected the need for an effective counter-terrorism that will address the underlying root causes and drivers of terrorism and violent extremism (Bockstette, 2008). This makes an understanding of the various factors that make individuals, especially the youth susceptible to terrorist recruitment and radicalization a crucial part of the fight against terrorism (Abdikadir, 2016; Hellsten, 2016). The purpose of this article therefore is to examine the susceptibility of Ghana’s youth to terrorist recruitment and radicalization. The study will discuss the various susceptible factors as found in the literature and conclude with some recommendations on the way forward for Ghana in particular and for the fight against violent extremism in general.
Prior to the 1930s, the politics about the Bawku Skin was hardly a contention between the Mamprusi and the Kusasi. The political relations between the two ethnic groups were relatively

cordial with the Mamprusi wielding chiefly authority over the Kusasi. British colonial authorities’ reorganization of traditional political structure reaffirmed Mamprusi chiefly authority over the Kusasi in Bawku, and the power relations remained so until the 1950s. Following the death of the Mamprusi Bawkunaba in 1956, a contest over the throne ensued between the Mamprusi and the Kusasi. This study paints a picture of the historical encounters in the dispute to show the extent to which the dispute over the Skin and land are intertwined and inseparable.
Question 3 (j)
The Asafo is an important social movement among the Ewe of Ghana, and it is found in many traditional Ghanaian societies. As a pre-colonial institution with primary responsibility for the political and social stability of communities, the Asafo demonstrated bravery, power, valour, and victory during intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic warfare in the exercise of their duties. Their traditional responsibilities included the protection of the territorial integrity of the Ewe communities, lives and property and defending the frontiers of many communities. In contemporary times, many of the traditional roles of the Asafo have been taken over by the state security apparatus of the Government of Ghana. Though pushed to the periphery, the Asafo in Ewedome (Central Volta) still constitute an important segment of socio-political organization. Using the qualitative model, the paper interrogates the place of the Asafo among the Ewe of Ho-Asogli in the Volta Region. It also discusses the evolution and war exploits of the Asafo in the past, discusses the roles of the Asafo in the contemporary socio-political space of the Asogli, and examines the influence of social change on the Asafo group. Delineating the challenges and new roles of the Asafo in the contemporary Ho-Asogli social and political space, this paper examines challenges and relevance of the Asafo in the socio-political institution among the Asogli in modern times.

Answer 1

3a. The negative effects of societal polarization against probity and accountability from political leadership in Ghana.

3b. To understand the experiences, challenges, and coping strategies of female police officers in Accra-Ghana.

3c. To evaluate the successes and failures of the security agencies in preventing conflicts in the Northern Ghana region.

3d. To understand the factors affecting voters’ choice in Ghanaian presidential elections depending whether or not the candidate is from a political party.