Elite mobilisation and ethnic conflicts: evidence from bawku traditional area

Abstract

While many researchers have investigated the structural causative factors of ethnic conflict in Ghana, elite mobilisation as a cause of ethnic conflict in Ghana has received less academic attention. This study investigated the role of ethnic elites in the onset of ethnic conflicts within Bawku Traditional Area of Ghana in the context of the General Theory of Ethnic Conflict. A qualitative method, using a grounded theory perspective with a systematic design was adopted where structured interview guides were used to gather primary data from 30 participants. The data collected was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. It was found that ethnic elites from both the Kusasi and the Mamprusi tribes, amidst favourable political atmosphere, mobilised their people into violence interchangeably with changing political regimes. It was therefore, recommended that the outbidding process which allows for intense mobilisation be regulated and guarded from degenerating into inspiration for violence.