COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST FOR POLI 446: GHANA’S FOREIGN POLICY

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST FOR POLI 446: GHANA’S FOREIGN POLICY

University of Ghana

Department of Political Science

Second Semester, 2014/2015 Academic Year

Lecturer: Dr. Iddi Ziblim

Office:  Room 15, Political Science Dept.

                                      E-mail: ziddi48@hotmail.com

Course Title	Ghana’s Foreign Policy
Course Code	Poli 446
Purpose and Objectives	Course Description and Objectives: This course is designed to provide an overview of the historical evolution 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 Expectations: 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.  Grading System:             Interim Assessment (IA) — 30%             Final Exam — 70%             Total Mark/Grade — 100% Final Exam Format:             Five(5) essay questions and you answer three(3). Students should note that academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class.  (See University Handbook for penalties).
Week No.	Date	Lecture Course	Tutorials	Venue	Assessment
1	3rd February, 2014	Introduction to course Administrative elements of the course/Course structure		Lecture:  JQB 23
2	10th  February, 2014	What is National Interest? Understanding the Driving Force of Ghana’s                       Foreign Policy.		Lecture:  JQB 23
3	17th February, 2014	Attributes of Ghana’s Foreign Policy.		Lecture:  JQB 23
4	24th February, 2014	Instruments of Foreign Policy Formulation in Ghana.		Lecture:  JQB 23
5	3rd March, 2014	Setting the Agenda for Ghana’s Foreign Policy.		Lecture:  JQB 23
6	10th March, 2014	Ghana at the Center of Continental Unity: The Nkrumah Years		Lecture:  JQB 23
7	17th March, 2014	Co-opted Economic Diplomacy and Busia’s Africa Policy		Lecture:  JQB 23
8	24th March, 2014	Mid-Term Exams		Exams:  JQB 23	Interim Assessment (30%)
9	31st March, 2014	Realpolitik or National Illusion: The Policy of Debt Repudiation.		Lecture:  JQB 23
10	7th April, 2014	Statecraft under Rawlings		Lecture:  JQB 23
11	14th April, 2014	Economic Diplomacy and Good Neighborliness under the NPP.		Lecture:  JQB 23
12	21st April, 2014	Continuity and Change in Ghana’s Foreign Policy since 2009.		Lecture:  JQB 23
13	28th April, 2014	Course Review and Evaluation	Revision	Lecture:  JQB 23
14-18	Revision and Exams

                                                      

READINGS

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).

Asamoah, Obed, The Political History of Ghana (1950-2013): The experience of a non-conformist, London, UK: AuthorHouse Publishers, 2014.

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.

Busia, K. A., “Ghana’s Policy for Foreign Affairs”, in Akyeampong, H. K., Ghana’s Struggle for Democracy and Freedom, Accra, Ghana: Ghana Publishing Corporation, 1979.

Danso-boafo, Kwaku, JJ Rawlings and the Democratic Transition in Ghana, Accra, GH: Ghana Universities Press, 2014.

Plischke, Elmer, Foreign Relations: Analysis of its anatomy, Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988.

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

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

Tieku, Thomas K. and Isaac Odoom, “Re-orienting Ghana’s Foreign Policy Crowd” in Ohemeng, Frank L. K. The Public Policy Making Process in Ghana: how politicians and civil servants deal with public problems, Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2012.

Interviews and Speeches of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong

1992 Constitution , Republic of Ghana