Kunbuor, Benjamin Bewa-Nyog (2000) Decentralisation and land administration in the Upper West Region of Ghana : a spatial exploration of law in development. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

PDF WRAP_THESIS_Kunbuor_2000.pdf - Submitted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (11Mb)

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

Decentralisation for local community development has become the new paradigm of
development discourse in Ghana in the present times. There is currently an elaborate legal
framework in Ghana on decentralisation as a means for addressing local community
development. The role of law in development is therefore implicated in the discourse. This
study raises provocative, startling and challenging questions not only on the decentralisation
programme, but the appropriate theoretical framework for reading the role of law in
development. The study argues that decentralisation in Ghana is a spatial strategy of the state
for addressing the crisis of its political economy and not one necessarily for local community
development. Taking its starting point in land administration in the Upper West Region of
Ghana (predominantly agrarian communities), the study explores how the objectives of
decentralisation in Ghana address the subjectivity of development needs of local communities
in Ghana. The study's contention is that the legal regime of the decentralisation programme
and its praxis fail to address a pertinent development concern (land) of the Upper West
communities. The study argues that if local community development were the object of the
programme, it would perforce address the problematic of land administration that is an
important concern for predominantly subsistence farming communities. The study also
demonstrates how a spatial reading of social phenomenon provides critical insights to an
understanding of the role of law in development.
The study is based on a field study conducted in Ghana and among the communities of the
Upper West Region, through interviews with officials of institutions, traditional authorities
and civil society organisations. The interviews were complemented by written primary and
secondary sources. Primary sources include documents from the National Archives in Ghana
and from decentralised institutions in the Upper West Region. Secondary sources include
unpublished essays and theses, books, articles, reported cases in the Ghana Law Reports,
unreported and/or pending cases in the Ghanaian courts.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JQ Political institutions (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.) K Law [LC] > KN Asia and Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Area, and Antarctica
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Decentralization in government -- Ghana, Community development -- Law and legislation -- Ghana, Rural development -- Law and legislation -- Ghana, Land tenure -- Law and legislation -- Ghana
Official Date:	August 2000
Dates:	Date Event August 2000 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Law
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Baxi, Upendra
Sponsors:	University of Warwick
Extent:	xviii, 296, 39 p.
Language:	eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads