The Dynamics of Political Party Activism in Ghana: A Comparative Study of the Activists of the NDC and NPP in Wa Centraland Lawra-Nandom Constituencies, (1992-2008).

Abstract

Since the inauguration of the Fourth Republic on 7 January 1993, the NDC and NPP have dominated the electoral space. The thesis seeks to explain the motivational basis of political party activism in the Wa Central and Lawra-Nandom constituencies between 1992 and 2008. The research findings were obtained by the application of mixed methods. The study argues that some Ghanaians signed up for the membership of political parties, and became party activists, because of the selective and material incentives the parties dispensed to their members. Political party activism is the process of working to achieve collective party goals. Attitudinal and behavioural traits and the socio-economic status (SES) of activists enable us to group party activists into three categories: patron activists, platform activists, and party footsoldiers. Party activism operates in two spheres: the formal and informal structures of the parties. The key to understanding why citizens join political parties in Ghana and become active in them lies in a multiplicity of factors. Altruistic, collective, and selective incentives and social norms are the main reasons Ghanaians joined the NDC and NPP. Party activists become contributors to the overall party agenda because they expect the political parties to satisfy their material motives. Citizens who become active in the NDC and NPP understand the possible benefits of their activism and the ways of achieving such goals. Party activists have realized that their “resources” (time, money and civic skills) (cf. Verba, et al., 1995) are valuable, and that they can negotiate for material incentives. Indeed, material incentives stood out strongly as the motive for becoming active in the parties.