COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST: POLI 446 (GHANA'S FOREIGN POLICY)

                                  DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE   

                                                 UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

SECOND SEMESTER, 2013/2014

Course Title:  POLI 446: Ghana’s Foreign Policy

Instructor:  Dr. Ziblim Iddi

Email: ziddi48@hotmail.com

Phone:  0246-050338

Office:  Room 15, Department of Political Science

Office Hours:  Tue/Wed./Frid – 2pm to 4pm or by appointment

Classroom:  JQB 23 @ 11:30am to 1:20pm.(Tues)

                                               

COURSE OUTLINE

Introduction

This course is designed to provide an overview of the development and current realities of Ghana’s foreign policy since independence.  It seeks to:  i) explore the substance, dynamics, and nuances of foreign policy under various governments, and ii) critically analyze and review the foreign policy formulation as well as the major factors that shaped the orientation of foreign policy in Ghana over the period.  Through academic and popular readings, we will discuss the global dimensions of foreign policy decisions and the domestic forces that sometimes influence foreign policymaking in Ghana.  The course begins with a review of contending theoretical perspectives and analytical overviews of what constitutes Ghana’s ‘National Interest’.  Attention then switches to the historical overview of the country’s foreign policy; that is, the challenges and prospects confronting Ghana as the first sub-Saharan African country to practice statecraft.  This is followed by the central focus of the course: an examination of the major foreign policies implemented by various governments since 1957.  The central concern here is to explore the extent to which the idiosyncrasy of leaders shapes the country’s foreign policy; find out who are the major actors and what are the major determinants of Ghana’s foreign policy orientation.   

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The primary goal of offering this course is the intellectual development of your knowledge and analytical ability in the realm of Ghana’s external relations.  Students are expected to have a general knowledge of world affairs, theories of international relations, considerable reading comprehension skills and analytical skills.  The course has a lecture- discussion format.  That is, introductory lectures will outline the central issues to be addressed in the various weeks; these lectures will be followed by informed discussions.  A Power Point presentation would be adopted in the lectures.  Students will be required to write a final examination paper based on the topics covered during the semester.  We will succeed in this class if during the coming weeks students increase their ability to analyze and appreciate the impact of major foreign policy decisions by Ghana’s Heads of state from Nkrumah to present. 

                                          

      CALENDAR OF CLASSES

Feb.  11           Course Overview and discussion of course outline

Feb.  18           What is National Interest? Understanding the Driving Force of Ghana’s 

                        Foreign Policy.

                        K. B. Asante; 1992 Constitution

Feb.  25           Major Actors in Ghana’s Foreign Policy Formulation: Institutional and

Structural Dynamics.

K. B. Asante; 1992 Constitution.

Mar.  04           External Relations of a New Nation ─ (1957-1960).

                        W. S. Thompson; K. Armah.

Mar.  11           Ghana’s External Relations after the Congo Crisis.

                        W. S. Thompson; K. Arhin; D. Rooney

Mar.  18           Ghana’s Foreign Policy Orientation under the National Liberation Council

(NLC) and the Progress Party (PP) Governments.

R. Libby; K. B-Arthur; K. B. Asante; 

Mar.  25         Interim Assessment (I.A)
                   

Apr.  01          Realpolitik or National Illusion: The Acheampong Years

                       K. B-Arthur; K. B. Asante.

    

Apr.  08          Statecraft under Rawlings

                       Shillington; K. B. Asante; B A-Duah, K. B- Arthur.

                       

Apr.  15          Economic Diplomacy and Good Neighborliness under the NPP.

Apr.  22           Ghana’s Traditional External Relations: United Nations and The Commonwealth.

Apr.  29           Paradigm Shift in Ghana’s Foreign Policy?

May. 06           Course Review and Evaluation

May. 13           Revision Week

READING GUIDE

Arhin, Kwame, The Life and Work of Nkrumah, (Accra: Sedco, 1991).

Armah, Kwesi, Peace without Power: Ghana’s Foreign Policy, 1957-66, (Accra: Ghana University Press, 2005).

Asante, K. B., Foreign Policy Making in Ghana: Options for the 21^st Century, (Accra: Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 1997).

Baffour Agyeman-Duah & C. K. Daddieh, “Ghana” in Timothy Shaw & J. E. Okolo ed.    The Political Economy of African Foreign Policy in “ECOWAS” New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press. 1994.

Boafo-Arthur, Kwame,  “Regime Change and Foreign Policy Orientation in Ghanaian Politics: The Post-Nkrumah Years in Perspective”,  Inaugural Lecture, University of Ghana, 2008.

Boafo-Arthur, Kwame, “Trends in Ghana’s Foreign Policy” in Hansen and Ninsin eds. The State, Development and Politics in Ghana.

Boafo-Arthur, Kwame, “Ghana’s External since 31^st December 1981” in Gyimah-Boadi ed. Ghana Under PNDC Rule.

Roland Libby, “External Co-optation of a Less Developed Country’s Policy Making: The Case of Ghana, 1969-1972”, World Politics, 1976.

Rooney, David, Kwame Nkrumah: Vision and Tragedy, (Accra: sub-Saharan Publishers, 1988).

Thompson, W. Scott, Ghana’s Foreign Policy: 1957-1966, (Princeton, U.S: Princeton University Press, 1969). 

1992 Constitution , Republic of Ghana