Uses and Abuses of Political Power. A Case Study of Continuity and Change in the Politics of Ghana

The first edition of this book, published in 1970, was widely acclaimed as the best account of grassroots politics to have emerged from Africa. One of its unique features is the extent to which the author has effectively integrated historical and anthropological issues into a political frame. The book is divided into three parts: the first looks retrospectively at the first edition and its relevance to Ghana's past, present and future; the second part considers the importance of comparative political studies to the development and fostering of the growth of an informed and knowledgeable political public and opinion leadership, covering history, culture and politics; and the third part presents an intellectual overview of Ghanaian political change, from Nkrumah to the peaceful transfer of power from the National Democratic Congress government to the New Patriotic Party at the start of the new millennium. Maxwell Owusu is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University Michigan. Educated at the London School of Economics, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago, he has taught at the University of Ghana, Legon. He was a consulting member of the Constitutional Experts Committee which drafted the 1992 constitution proposals. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications, the recipient of a US Institute of Peace Grant, and on the board of the International Union of Anthropoligical and Ethnological Sciences. Praise for the first edition: ".the best available account of grassroots politics to have emerged from Africa." Political Science Quarterly ".this fine and vivic piece of scholarship comes to blow away fhe cobwebs from Ghanaian political studies." American Political Science Review "The author demonstrates an enviable ability to present his diverse material in a readily comprehensive framework and handles his written sources as deftly as his own participant observation." American Journal of Sociology