The Role Of Ghana’s Foreign Policy In Its Socioeconomic Development: A Case Of Ghana’s Fourth Republic From 1993 To 2008

Abstract

The study analyzed and compared the foreign policies of Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings of the NDC and John Agyekum Kufuor of the NPP and the impacts their foreign policies had on Ghana’s socioeconomic development. The study was a qualitative one. Both primary and secondary data was used for the study. The study revealed that Ghana’s foreign policy under the two Presidents played significant roles in the economic development of Ghana. There was both continuity and change in the policies of the two administrations. Both leaders employed aggressive economic diplomacy and Pan African policies to rebuild and strengthen the economy. Kufuor, however, emphasized good neighborliness. Rawlings emphasized Pan Africanism and drew much assistance from revolutionary governments, emerging economies, and Asian countries. The foreign policies of the two regimes improved the country’s socio-economic growth. Marked improvements were seen in health, infrastructure, jobs, education, and agriculture delivery.