Ghana - by Jeffrey Ahlman

About the Book

"Few African countries have attracted the international attention that Ghana has. In the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the then-colonial Gold Coast emerged as a key political and intellectual hub for British West Africa. Half a century later, when Ghana became the first sub-Saharan state to emerge from European colonial rule, it became a key site for a burgeoning transnational African anticolonial politics that drew activists, freedom fighters, and intellectuals from around the world. As the twentieth century came to a close, Ghana became an international symbol of the putative successes of post-Cold-War African liberalization and democratization projects. Given these many fascinating developments, it is easy to forget that fundamental concepts such as "the Gold Coast," "Ghana," and "Ghanaian" have never been set in stone and themselves bear exploring. Here Jeffrey Ahlman offers an original and accessible explanation of how these ever-changing concepts interact with those broader developments. On the one hand, he narrates a rich political history stretching from the beginnings of the very idea of the "Gold Coast" to the country's 1994 democratization, which paved the way for the Fourth Republic. At the same time, he offers a rich social history that examines the sometimes overlapping, sometimes divergent nature of what it means to be Ghanaian through discussions of marriage, ethnicity, and migration; of cocoa as a cultural system; of the multiple meanings of chieftaincy; and of other contemporary markers of identity. Throughout it all, Ahlman distills decades of work by other scholars while also drawing on a wide array of archival, oral, journalistic, and governmental sources in order to provide his own fresh insights. For its clear, comprehensive coverage not only of Ghanaian history, but also of the major debates shaping nineteenth- and twentieth-century African politics and society more broadly, Ghana: A Political and Social History is a must-read for students and scholars of African Studies"--

Book Synopsis

Few African countries have attracted the international attention that Ghana has. In the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the then-colonial Gold Coast emerged as a key political and intellectual hub for British West Africa. Half a century later, when Ghana became the first sub-Saharan state to emerge from European colonial rule, it became a key site for a burgeoning, transnational, African anticolonial politics that drew activists, freedom fighters, and intellectuals from around the world. As the twentieth century came to a close, Ghana also became an international symbol of the putative successes of post-Cold-War African liberalization and democratization projects.

Here Jeffrey Ahlman narrates this rich political history stretching from the beginnings of the very idea of the "Gold Coast" to the country's 1992 democratization, which paved the way for the Fourth Republic. At the same time, he offers a rich social history stretching that examines the sometimes overlapping, sometimes divergent nature of what it means to be Ghanaian through discussions of marriage, ethnicity, and migration; of cocoa as a cultural system; of the multiple meanings of chieftaincy; and of other contemporary markers of identity. Throughout it all, Ahlman distills decades of work by other scholars while also drawing on a wide array of archival, oral, journalistic, and governmental sources in order to provide his own fresh insights.

For its clear, comprehensive coverage not only of Ghanaian history, but also of the major debates shaping nineteenth- and twentieth-century African politics and society more broadly, Ghana: A Political and Social History is a must-read for students and scholars of African Studies.

Review Quotes

"[Jeffrey Alhman] provides an important political and social history of 19th- and 20th-century Ghana as it struggled to transform itself into an independent nation. Modern Ghana, which achieved its independence on March 6, 1957, has a complex history involving both a question of identity-what it means to be Ghanaian-and the evolution of the country's place within Africa and the world. Ahlman explores this in eight chronologically defined chapters that connect Ghana's transition from a region of Atlantic trade to the colonial, chocolate-producing Gold Coast of the 19th century to the intellectual, social, and political push to become a free and independent nation." --CHOICE

"Ghana is a consequential, compelling, and sobering account of Ghana from the 1800s to the present. Bringing to bear a host of voices, and wide-ranging sources and archives, Ghana tells us that false dawns and promises have constantly marred the journey toward postcolonial economic and political African independence. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the state of postcolonial Ghana and Africa today and anyone interested in how Africans have grappled with individual and collective sovereignty in the face of colonial, military, and democratic governments." --Nana Osei-Opare, Fordham University, USA

"This ambitious book provides a superb introduction to the history of Ghana since the nineteenth century by looking at the changing meanings of a "Gold Coaster" under colonial rule and of "Ghanaian" within an emerging nation-state. Attentive to the coexistence of multiple political and social identities, transnational connections, and economic conditions, this book is a tour de force - yet always clearly argued and accessible. It's a joy to read!" --Stephan F. Miescher, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

"This penetrating study, rooted in an array of scholarly and primary sources, examines Ghana's recent past through the lens of networks of self-identification and belonging that extend beyond the conventional nation-state. Emphasizing African agency in these political, economic, social, and cultural networks, Ahlman's study offers a critical new perspective that challenges Eurocentric models and periodization. It is highly recommended for scholars, students, and the general public." --Elizabeth Schmidt, Professor Emeritus of History, Loyola University Maryland, USA

About the Author

Jeffrey Ahlman is Professor of History and Chair of African Studies at Smith College, USA. He is also the author of Living with Nkrumahism: Nation, State, and Pan-Africanism in Ghana (2017) and the biography Kwame Nkrumah: Visions of Liberation (2021).