Ghana benefits from innovative domestic and regional conflict prevention and response systems; however, successful maintenance of Ghana’s peace requires concerted focus at the district, national, and regional levels.
Situated in coastal West Africa, Ghana is a country of more than 32 million people, well-known for its competitive elections and peaceful transition of political leadership. In a region beset by volatility in recent years, Ghana is regularly heralded for its relatively stable democracy and for its socioeconomic growth and security interventions; as such, it has been viewed as a reliable partner to other African nations, to Europe, and to the United States. Its government has consistently pursued policies promoting private-sector growth and foreign investment as well as strengthening public social services and welfare programs.
So why a CSIS brief on conflict prevention in Ghana? Because some of the underlying economic and security factors that have promoted stability over the years are fraying and have the potential to deteriorate further due to climate change. Because the sense among many in Ghana is that the eruption of violence is a matter of when, not if. Because now is the time to focus on conflict prevention in Ghana and across broader coastal West Africa.
This brief presents an initial examination of fragility factors in Ghana and the potential of climate change to exacerbate or multiply those factors and drivers of conflict.
Read the full analysis : CSIS
