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Item Democratic Elections And Fiscal Management In Ghana’s Fourth Republic, 1992-2016(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Ahmed, A.HABSTRACT The Ghanaian state was ushered into multi-party democratic governance in 1992. Unlike its predecessors, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana which shepherded the democratic transition has so far survived seven successive competitive elections and three turnover of power from one democratically elected government to another, surpassing Huntington’s “two turnover test” criterion for democratic consolidation. However, fiscal policy management by successive elected governments since the beginning of the Fourth Republic has failed to adequately respond to the democratic gains made by the state over the last two and half decades. Using the concurrent triangulation strategy of mixed methods data collection, this study investigates the interplay between democratic elections and fiscal policy management in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. The study reveals the existence of political business cycles (PBC) in Ghana’s electoral process since 1992. Thus, by overwhelming majority, Ghanaian voters support the proposition that since the inception of democratic rule in 1992, all incumbent governments had tried to manipulate fiscal policy for electoral advantage. This, they did by increasing public sector wages and salaries, scaling up of infrastructure development and reducing or relaxing their commitment in the collection of taxes, government fees and charges during election periods. Again, in almost all cases, this had led to macro-economic instability which led to reduction in economic growth and the economic well-being of the citizenry. Another significant revelation from this study is that Ghanaians had greater preference for infrastructure development when voting than any other consideration. Thus, infrastructure by far ranked the highest in terms of preference, leaving behind other key issues such as social intervention programmes, and wages, salaries and allowances of public sector workers during election periods. Finally, the study shows that Ghanaian voters under the Fourth Republic were both “myopic” and “rational” when electing their political leaders. Thus, voters’ myopic views on incumbents’ economic policies during election times underscored the existence of PBC in Ghana’s electoral process. It may also explain why incumbents won in the 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2012 elections. Conversely, their “rationality” and “forward looking” behaviour may also account for the electoral defeat of incumbents in the 2000, 2008 and 2016 elections despite attempts at manipulating fiscal policy for partisan, electoral and opportunistic purposes. The study proposes some recommendations to restrain incumbents from manipulating the economy, particularly fiscal policy during election periods. These include the formation of an independent fiscal institution such as the fiscal council to serve as fiscal watchdog against fiscal indiscipline and expansionary fiscal policy at all times, particularly during election times. Moreover, there is the need for the establishment of fiscal rules with clear-cut mechanisms of enforcement. The study also recommends strict adherence to all the norms of good governance and transparency such as the passage of the right to information bill in order to enhance fiscal accountability. Other recommendations include the proscription of the winner-takes-all type of politics being practised under the 1992 Constitution, introduction of a seven-year non-renewable presidential tenure to ensure reasonable fiscal policy continuity, enhancement of civic education for Ghanaian citizens and by legislation, strict adherence to a long-term national development plan by all elected governments.Item The Politics of Primary Elections in Ghana: A Study of the National Democratic Congress’ Parliamentary Primaries in the Upper West Region From 2003-2015(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Arah, L.M.In Ghana, parliamentary primaries are so topical and keenly contested for in a party’s strongholds. This is because, the chances of becoming a Member of Parliament (MP) are very high after wining the primaries and so primaries are the real elections in those areas. For this reason, contestants especially sitting MPs would employ all manner of tactics in order to outwit their opponents. This thesis therefore examines the sort of politics that goes on in the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Upper West Region. The study uses “A theory of political parties: groups, policy demands and nomination”, and the Alternative theory for the use of primary elections in new democracies as the theoretical foundation. The views of three hundred and ninety-eight (398) respondents were sought by the use of a survey questionnaire, and elite interviews conducted for twenty-seven (27) specially selected NDC members. After the analysis of the data, the study argues that the actual contest in the parliamentary primaries starts with parliamentary hopefuls influencing the selection of constituency executives, which precede the parliamentary primaries. This is in view of the crucial role these executives’ play as to who wins primaries in each constituency. Secondly, from 2003-2007, many sitting MPs went unopposed based on three reasons; fist, many NDC members were not politically enlightened to contest for the post. Secondly, the NDC was in opposion and so new entrants could not marshall the necessary resources to challenge sitting MPs.Thirdly, party officials coluded wih sitting MPs to appealed to new entrants to step down for the future and for party unity. More importantly, the administrative processes governing the primaries were highly flawed to give undue advantage to certain candidates, as the entire process was fraught with favouritism, intimidation, bribry and vote buying. Additionally, it was noticed that incumbency served as an advantage to especially sitting MPs, but party endorsement of candidates did not inure to the advantage of either the candidate or the party as a whole. Lastly, women participation in parliamentary primaries was low because of societal odds that militate against their participation in politics. The study therefore recommended reforms to creat a level playing field for all and to enticse more women into politics. This should be done to match the name the National democratic Congress.Item Internal Democracy and the Performance of Political Parties in Ghana’s Fourth Republic: A Comparative Study of the National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party in Selected Constituencies (2000-2016)(University Of Ghana, 2019-10) Asekere, G.Internal democracy, also known as intra-party democracy, refers to the level and methods of including party members in decision making and deliberation within the party structure. The debate as to whether internal democracy enhances the performance of political parties in elections has left scholars divided. The relevance of internal democracy to Ghana’s body politic lies in the fact that democracy within political parties has since the return to constitutional rule in 1993 been a reflection of how democracy is organized within the state. This study explored the extent to which internal democracy affected the performance of Ghana’s leading political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), since the return to constitutional rule in 1993. Relying on mixed research methods and anchored on the philosophy of pragmatism, the study examined the subject between 2000 and 2016 in three unique constituencies, Ledzokuku, Ketu South and Kwabre East; the first, a swing constituency, and the second and third, strongholds of the NDC and NPP respectively. The rational choice and civic voluntarism theories guided the study. The study found that the causes of internal democratic problems in the NDC and NPP in the Kwabre East, Ketu South, and Ledzokuku constituencies were similar, and informed by multiple actors with various interests. These interests which were either personal gains or benefits to their communities or families partly explained the politics of exclusion in the distribution of financial resources, the undue influence of financiers in the selection of candidates, the imposition of MMDCEs and appointments/co-optation of people into non-elective internal positions. The study further found that the impact of internal democracy on the electoral performance of the political parties (the NPP and NDC) was largely dependent on whether the constituency was a swing or stronghold of another political party. Also, internal party leadership accountability to the membership was found to be weak. Theoretically, the study found that political actors and voters in the three constituencies do a cost-benefit analysis in every decision they take. This is in sync with the assumptions in the rational choice theory. Also, the findings show that the civic voluntarism theory does not offer a convincing explanation for internal party activism concerning the quest for leadership. The theory, however, best explains the deployment of money, time and civic skills such that everyone plays a role whether rich or poor in canvassing for votes (division of labour). The study concludes that there is a nexus between internal democracy and the electoral performance of political parties. However, good internal democracy plays a major role in the performance of political parties in the swing constituency while party identity is the dominant determinant of electoral performance in the strongholds of the NDC and NPP. Furthermore, despite the various reforms by the NDC and NPP since 2000 to improve their internal democracy, patron-client tactics, uneven distribution of resources, the overriding influence of money and dictatorial tendencies fueled by lack of transparency and accountability are some of the factors that caused undemocratic practices within the parties. Based on the findings, the study recommends among other things that, in order to prevent few wealthy members from continuously overshadowing the ordinary members and by extension determining the direction of internal democracy in political parties, the EC should compel political parties to disclose the identities and amount individuals donate. The only way to successfully achieve this is to amend the 1992 Constitution and the Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574). The leadership of both parties at all levels should desist from the practice of imposing candidates on constituents and party delegates or asking some aspirants not to contest certain sitting MPs or party executives because the practice undermines internal democracy. The most forceful lesson learnt is that the existence of rules and regulations governing the conduct of internal party elections is not sufficient to promote democracy within political parties. The internal party actors, the security agencies, the electoral commission, and all other stakeholders must be willing to enforce the rules without partiality to ensure transparency, fairness, and inclusiveness in the process.Item Parliament and Public Policy Making Under Ghana's Fourth Republic, 1993-2008(University of Ghana, 2012-05) Aggrey-Darko, E.The role of Parliament in the policy making in Ghana has been found to be limited as the institution has suffered from the unstable political environment within which it operated especially from independence in 1957 to 1992. The lack of consistency and continuity of democratic governance undermined Parliament's ability to be properly institutionalized and benefit from path dependency. The inauguration of the Fourth Republic and the restoration of parliamentary democracy brought in its wake a parliament that was, to all intents and purposes, a one party parliament house of the boycott of the 1992 parliamentary elections by a coalition of opposition parties. The lack of virile opposition not withstanding. Parliament discharged its duties creditably, albeit modestly. The first parliament faced enormous challenges such as lack of personnel with institutional memory, MPs with little or no experience in parliamentary procedures and practices, weak support systems such as a poor library facilities. weak research base, lack of financial autonomy. excessive partisanship, weak committee system and poor condition of service of MPs among others. The study demonstrates that Parliament of Ghana works within a constitutional framework called the hybrid system that tilts power in favour of the executive and leaves parliament almost at the mercy of the magnanimity of the President in terms of resource allocation. Parliament also operates within a constitutional framework that largely subordinates II to the executive by promoting an institutional configuration that results in the depletion of its core materials for the purpose of forming government The study revealed that the combining effect of weak institutional configuration and the growing demands on the MP to provide both public and private goods have literally produced MPs who are keen in catching the President's eye rather than the Speaker's eye. In the process, MPs have become utility maximizers because of the desire to protect one's political fortunes. The study recommends that considering the growing demand for institutional efficiency and good governance, there is the need for a total institutional re-configuration to balance the power between the legislature and the executive. It also recommends rigorous development of the institutional capacity of Parliament to enable it playa meaningful role in policy making in the country.Item Political Clientelism and Poverty Alleviation Programmes in Developing Democracies: An Examination of Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty.(University of Ghana, 2018-12) Tweneboah-Koduah, D.Ghana’s steady progress toward democratic consolidation has received significant applause worldwide. Notwithstanding this achievement, the selection of beneficiaries of poverty alleviation programmes by incumbent government has often been compromised for political gains. Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme was introduced a decade ago by the state with the aim of using it to alleviate the suffering of the extremely poor and the vulnerable. This study set out to examine the role of political clientelism in the implementation of LEAP. With this objective, the study addressed a number of issues including the examination of the processes involve in the selection of LEAP beneficiaries in practice and the extent to which the LEAP programme has been characterised by clientelistic politics. Concurrent Mixed Methods approach was employed to collect and analyse data from the field. Quantitative data was obtained from 360 beneficiaries of LEAP and 12 officials selected from government institutions and civil society organizations associated with LEAP implementation provided the qualitative data. The study area covers 8 selected districts from Greater Accra and the Northern region of Ghana. The districts included Shai Osudoku, La Dade Kotopon, Ga East and Ga West Municipalities in the Greater Accra region and the districts from the Northern region were East Gonja, Tamale Metropolis, Kumbungu and Yendi Municipalities. Besides, the study was designed around Rational Choice Theory which contends that political actors like economic actors act rationally in the pursuit of their self-interest. At the end, it was established that the mandated eligibility criteria for the selection of the beneficiaries were observed more in breach than in compliance. The study also found that political clientelism has been a key feature of LEAP implementation, and that the provision of LEAP benefits has become contingent on the individuals political support for the party of the ruling government. To tackle the pervasive political clientelism associated with LEAP, the study recommends an active involvement of the media and civil society organizations in the implementation process. Regular and effective monitoring of the programme by these institutions will help to expose most of the abuses carried out by politicians. Finally, for LEAP to be able to achieve its intended purpose and for the above suggested measures to yield results, it was further recommended that the political class must show strong political will and sustained commitment toward the realization of the goals of LEAP by exhibiting culture of openness and transparency in the selection process.Item Local Economic Development in Ghana’s Local Governance System: The Cases of the Accra Metropolitan, Keta Municipal and Shai Odoku District Assemblies.(University of Ghana, 2018-05) Agbevade, A.The study sought to discuss the local economic development (LED) strategies, their beneficent outcomes, how the strategies were financed as well as the actors involved in the implementation process and the dynamics that shaped the process using the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Keta Municipal Assembly (KeMA) and Shai-Osudoku District Assembly (SODA) as case studies. The study employed the actor-oriented approach to development intervention as the theoretical framework. Using the triangulation and the multiple case study approaches of research design, the study drew a total sample size of 551 with 533 from the residents of the three Assemblies using the stratified sampling technique with the breakdown as follows: 178, 187 and 177 from the AMA, KeMA and SODA respectively and 18 respondents using the purposive sampling. These respondents were selected to solicit views on their roles as actors in the LED implementation process and to ascertain the extent to which LED impacted their lives. A number of findings came to light. First, the three Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) pursued strategies driven by their peculiar circumstances which resulted in the implementation of diverse LED strategies in some cases. However, there were some similarities in the LED strategies implemented by the three MMDAs. Second, the MMDAs’ sources of financing LED programmes could be classified into three main categories namely; inter-governmental transfers, donor or private sector funding and internally-generated funds, The ability of an MMDA to attract funds was largely determined by factors such as the strategic nature and category of the MMDA, its leadership, political and personal commitment of some top level staff to LED implementation, the available economic development incentives and the immediate returns that investors expected to gain from their investments. Third, the implementation of LED was shaped by the activities of various actors with different interests. The activities of the actors in the LED implementation process accounted for variation in the degree of success in the three MMDAs, which reinforces the politics of LED implementation. In addition, the actors’ involvement in the LED process hinges a lot on their capacity and resource endowment. Furthermore, the success of LED intervention depends on the willingness of the actors to collaborate with each other. Fourth, the local governance structures also influenced the LED implementation process, the extent of which depends on how the actors in the LED implementation process interacted with them (local structures). Fifth, the implementation of LED in the three MMDAs was shaped by the following dynamics: politics which took the form of political transition, political leadership, political recruitment, and micro politics; leadership, land tenure system, institutional, administrative and procedural issues. Sixth, the implementation of LED resulted in the following beneficent outcomes: employment opportunity creation, income generation, infrastructure provision and poverty reduction in the three MMDAs. However, the impact of LED on poverty reduction was limited to the households of LED participants. The implementation of LED was impeded by challenges such as limited funding, lack of institutional capacity, policy inconsistency, lack of political and leadership commitment and support to implement MMDA bye-laws, non-availability of land and the politicization of LED. Based on the findings, the study recommends the following: the harmonization of all poverty reduction related strategies with LED, the launching and immediate implementation of the National LED policy, the designation of a particular fund and earmarking of a certain percentage of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) for the implementation of LED as well as the formulation and implementation of a national policy aimed at joint land ownership between the MMDAs and traditional authorities for LED purposes, the adoption of change management strategies for the transformation and capacitation of the institutions and human resource at the MMDAs for effective LED implementation as well as popular participation to include the traditional authorities, community-based organisations (CBOs) and the private sector. Furthermore, economic development incentives in the MMDAs should be created, excessive politicization of LED programmes should be reduced and education and sensitization on LED programmes both at the national and local levels should be stepped up and coordinated. The most forceful lesson learnt is that actors are very important in the implementation process of LED and should therefore have the requisite capacity and resources in the right mix, at the right time and deployed for the right purpose. In addition, the actors should be willing to cooperate with each other in the entire LED process.Item Financing Political Parties under the Fourth Republic of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2015-06) Agomor, K. S.The way political parties mobilize funds for their activities is recognized as an essential determinant of their internal democratic politics. This study examines the financing of political parties in Ghana. It is based on the hypothesis that the dependence of political parties on some wealthy members of society for funding affects their capacity to achieve internal democracy. The study obtained primary data from a total sample of 1,111. This was made of a survey of 1,006 card holding members of four political parties, (the National Democratic Congress, New Patriotic Party, People’s National Convention and Convention People’s Party), which are consistently represented in Parliament; 105 interviews conducted with ordinary and executive members of political parties, public institutions and civil society in Ghana; and the relevant financial records of political parties provided by the Electoral Commission. The data analysis was guided by the rational choice institutional theory which sees members of political parties as rational political actors who provide funding to, or withhold funding from, political parties based on their calculation of the potential political and economic benefits. Three key findings were uncovered by the study. First, contextual variables including the political environment, the economic status of citizens, the socio-cultural environment, and organizational factors have accounted for the inability of political parties to mobilize resources from their grassroots members. Second, party financing has, therefore, relied heavily on some wealthy members of society who use their power to control, to their advantage, the internal democratic politics of the parties. Third, neopatrimonial politics has emerged within political parties, where poor members sell their votes to wealthy politicians during the election of party representatives. Based on the findings, the study recommends some form of state support, building capacity for effective party organization and enforcement of the rules and regulation governing funding of political parties to enhance democratic politics in Ghana.Item Public Financial Accountability And Independent Oversight Institutions In Ghana, 1993-2016(University of Ghana, 2017-07) Pimpong, S.This study sought to evaluate the constitutional-legal and institutional framework for promoting and enhancing public financial accountability (PFA) in Ghana since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1993. The study focused on three independent oversight institutions; the Office of the Auditor-General (A-G), Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Financial Administration Courts (FAC) in the enhancement of financial accountability in the public sector. In Ghana, the Auditor-General’s reports have persistently blamed public financial accountability failures on weak internal control systems, despite the existence of oversight horizontal accountability institutions. The fundamental question that runs through this work is whether the constitutional-legal and institutional framework put in place to enhance public financial accountability in Ghana has actually achieved its purpose. This study, however, argues that public financial accountability failures in Ghana denotes poor internal control systems that signifies deficits in oversight institutions. This study adopted a largely qualitative research approach. Face-to-face Interviews, review of primary and secondary documents and the direct observation methods were employed as tools for data collection. The study reveals the presence of a good and detailed constitutional-legal framework that promotes and enhances PFA in Ghana. However, the absence of applying sanctioning mechanisms to wrongdoers, deficiencies in institutional capacity of the three institutions, coupled with financial and human resource limitations, have had an adverse impact on PFA. The study consequently argues that constitutional-legal rules and regulations do not operate in isolation, but require supporting institutions and reforms to deliver the anticipated outcome in public financial accountability. The study also reveals lack of harmonized policy and coordinated mechanisms among the three oversight Institutions, and argues that, reforms within the public sector requires changes in the approach of individuals (especially public officials) as well as changes in organizational culture in Ghana, and that the mere reprimands by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee without the necessary sanctions meted out to wrongdoers by the Financial Administration Courts, has the tendency to retard any efforts towards the improvement of PFA in Ghana.Item Engendering National Public Policy Through Global Governance: An Assessment of Ghana’s Domestic Violence Legislation as a Trans-Sovereign Transnational Issue(University Of Ghana, 2015-03) Nyahuma, T.M.This research examines the relationship between global governance, global public policy and Ghana's national public policy in reference to the passing of the Domestic Violence Bill. It further assesses to what extent global governance can address the trans-sovereign transnational issue of violence against women, specifically domestic violence. The independent variables in this research project are global governance and global public policy with political environment and the “second wave” of democracy in Africa as the intervening variables and national public policy as the dependent variable. The Domestic Violence Act 2007 (Act 732) is the subject of the case study. This research project is unique in its endeavor to explore the interface between global public policy and national public policy. Violence against women has been identified by the United Nations as a pandemic affecting every country in the world, with domestic violence identified as the most insidious and malevolent form of violence. Gender is presented as a category of analysis because gender differences have been institutionalized worldwide and are a major factor in structural inequalities in world politics. Though the context of gender varies from society to society and culture to culture, gender has been established as a social relation of inequality. The level of violence against women is a major consequence of gender inequality The nation state as a unitary system of international relations is being challenged by transitional actors and an international civil society. In the latter half of the twentieth century sovereignty of the nation states has been redefined from noninterference to responsibility and accountability to an internal, as well as an external civil society. Nation states are complying with international standards and norms of governance as they ratify and domesticate global public policy into national public policy. Democratization of Africa and of Ghana since the 1992 Constitution has provided an arena for the development of a civil society and NGOs with greater autonomy from government and international donors. The United Nations four World Conferences on Women and other UN world conferences have opened space and given agency for women to participation in global governance and global public policy and has empowered women around the world and in Ghana to contribute to effecting change in national public policy. Women and men have been embolden by their participation in these world conferences, which have produced international treaties, covenants, and conferences, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action. An international civil society and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) have also developed with a focus on women’s rights, gender equity, gender equality and social justice. Ghana’s public policy was examined because Ghana is an active participant in global governance having ratified a number of international instruments. Ghana has in some cases embedded global public policy in its 1992 Constitution and national public policy by setting guidelines for the domestication of ratified multilateral treaties, conventions and agreements. This research concludes that global governance and global public policy have provided instruments of governance for women and men to use as they advocate and lobby to end violence against women. Women and men in Ghana affectively used global public policy to develop the Domestic Violence Bill culminating in the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732). The qualitative research method was use to conduct informant interviews on the manifestation of global governance and global public policy on the process of engendering Ghana’s public policy and addressing the issues of prevention and criminalization of violence against women, specifically domestic violenceItem Changing Forms of Political Communication and Voter Choices In Ghana’s Elections, 1992-2008(University of Ghana, 2015-07) Asah-Asante, K.; Ninsin, K. A.; Boafo-Arthur, A.; Essuman-Johnson, A.; University Of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of Political ScienceThe Fourth Republic has witnessed six successive elections, including those of 1992, 2000 and 2008, which have been examined in this thesis. In all these elections, the role of political communication has been crucial in determining voter choices. Accounting for the accretion of political communication is the liberalization of the media landscape in 1995, which led to the proliferation of radio and television stations as a complement to the explosion of newspapers after the restoration of democratic rule in 1992. In these elections, politicians have made effective use of messages and channels of communication to influence the choice of the electorate. Of the messages that have been used with great effect, those relating to the economy, development, corruption, slogans and gestures stand out. This study, which examined the changes in forms and sophistication of political communication and their ultimate influence on voter choices in the three elections, found out that messages on the economy were most important in influencing voter choices. Significant though were messages on development, corruption and in slogan and gesture, their impact was not phenomenal as the economy. Of least influence were messages on ethnicity, human rights, accountability and transparency. In this study, political rally which emerged as the most influential channels of communicating messages to voters during the three elections has exposed the limitations of the impact of traditional media channels in effectively communicating messages during elections. That said, the study has underscored the relevance of political communication in elections and identified the type of messages and appropriate channels available to politicians to communicate their messages. To influence more voters, politicians should seek expert advice in identifying issues of concern to the electorate and develop them into effective messages as well as select relevant channels to cItem Institutions and Human Security in the Post-Conflict Development of Liberia, 2003-2011(University of Ghana, 2012-07) Attuquayefio, P.K.; Boafo-Arthur, K.; Essuman-Johnson, A.; Ziblim, I.One of the significant challenges confronting the international community in the post-Cold War era is dealing with intra-state conflicts in various parts of the world, particularly in Africa. In addressing this issue, it has also become essential over time, to address the question of what states must do upon the cessation of hostilities to prevent a recurrence of the conflict. Consequently, post-conflict development, including the rebuilding of infrastructure, political and social institutions, demobilizing, disarming and reintegrating ex-combatants and generally creating conditions for sustained development has according to Krause & Jütersonke 2005 become the ‘core business’ of the international humanitarian and development community. This has created a peacebuilding industry that seeks to prevent recidivism in violent conflicts. While there have been successes, there have also been significant failures in this regard. In 2003, Liberia brought to an end a fourteen year old civil war with the signing of a comprehensive peace accord. With a legacy of institutions shattered by war and long periods of mal-governance Liberia began a process of post conflict development aimed at addressing the human security needs of its people. The main objective of the study is to examine human security in the post conflict development of Liberia from an institutional perspective. A critical aspect of this is to interrogate the extent to which the record of human security is deepening historic socio- economic inequalities and how that threatens the sustainability of Liberia’s post-conflict development. The research hypothesised that the floundering state of institution building in post- conflict Liberia is likely to foster uneven results in human security, re-establish socio-economic inequalities, and engender negative consequences with the potential of instigating relapse into violent conflict. The research findings noted that, whilst Liberia has made tremendous efforts at building institutions to advance various components of human security, there is still a lot of socio-economic inequality between the various counties. The continued spatial inequality is undermining the sustainability of post-conflict development. This will cause Liberia to relapse into conflict.