University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN GHANA'S FOREIGN POLICY BY EBENEZER OFOSU ASIEDU AN ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRESENTED TO THE LEGON CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (LECIA) IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE MASTER OF ARTS (INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS) DEGREE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON SEPTEMBER 2000 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN GHANA'S FOREIGN POLICY BY .(() . III '.'~"~ ", EBENEZER OFOSU ASIEDU AN ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRESENTED TO THE LEG ON CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (LECIA) IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE MASTER OF ARTS (INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS) DEGREE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON SEPTEMBER 2000 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN GHANA'S FOREIGN POLICY BY EBENEZER OFOSU ASIEDU AN ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRESENTED TO THE LEGON CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (LECIA) IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE MASTER OF ARTS (INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS) DEGREE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON SEPTEMBER 2000 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN GHANA'S FOREIGN POLICY BY EBENEZER OFOSU ASIEDU AN ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRESENTED TO THE LEGON CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (LECIA) IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE MASTER OF ARTS (INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS) DEGREE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON SEPTEMBER 2000 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that this Dissertation, except the identified quotations which have been duly acknowledged, is the result of an original research conducted by me under the supervision of Dr. A. Bonnah Koomson, and that no part of it has been submitted anywhere else for any other purpose. -?\ •••••~ ~.A ......... .......... . EBENEZER OFOSU ASIEDU DR. A. ONNAH KOOMSON (STUDENT) (SUPERVISOR) DATE:.~P..~~ ... September, 2000 DATE: . .?a:.~ ... sePtember, 2000 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my darling mum and sister for their wonderful support, understanding and kindness. Also to Miss Gyinah- Bediako for her display of loyalty and support all these years. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My deepest appreciation to the Almighty God for seeing me through the entire period of the course. Many thanks to the senior members of LECIA especially to Dr. V. Antwi-Danso and Dr. B.Y.D. Gebe. To Dr. Gebe, I express my profound gratitude for the interest he stimulated in me. His timely assistance, invaluable suggestions, fatherly advice, care, and his major role as the 'unoffICial' supervisor. allotting to me most of his time reading through the entire work, really contributed to the successful completion of this work. I am greatly indebted to him for his immense support. My next appreciation goes to my mum and sister who, together, have shown immense interest in my education. They have never wavered in their confidence and trust in me and have, thus, continued to offer their total support to me in all ways possible within their means. I deeply appreciate the help they have given me all these years. To them I say Ayekoo! I am also grateful to my course mates' in-the-struggle, especially Elsie, Felix. Nunoo, Eric. Serwaa, Tijani, Abdul- Sarned, Linda and everyone for their encouragement given me in times of trying moment. I am equally grateful to Mr. Eric Amarley Amartey, the assistant librarian of the Legon Centre for Intemational Affairs, LECIA, for his immense assistance. My final appreciation to all those who in one way or the other have contributed to the successful completion of this work but whose names cannot be mentioned. I say a big thank you to you all. May the good Lord richly bless you. It must, however, be indicated that I lay no claim to excellence. In view of this, it is not entirely impossible that in sharing some thoughts with me or using other people's views, some of such thoughts or views may have been misrepresented. Thus, if while reading this work readers discover such misrepresentation. please accept my apologies, for it was never intended. To God be the Glory. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration Dedication Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv Abbreviations vi Abstract vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Statement ... 1.2 Problem Statement 4 1.3 Objectives of the Study• .. 5 1.4 Hypothesis 5 1.5 Rationale of the Study ••• 6 1.6 Literature Review 7 1.7 Theoretical Framework ••. 12 1.8 Definition of Key Concepts 16 1.9 Methods/Sources of Data Collection ••. 18 1.10 limitations of the Work 18 1.11 Arrangement of Chapters 19 CHAPTER TWO THE PRESS AND FOREIGN POLICY IN THE US. .. 23 2.1 US Intervention in the Vietnam War (1964-73) 25 2.2 US Intervention in the Gulf War (1990-91) 28 2.3 US Intervention in Somalia (1992-93) ••• 31 2.4 US Intervention in Bosnia (1994-95) ••• 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE THE MEDIA AND GHANA'S FOREIGN POLICY 40 3.1 The Media and Nkrumah's Foreign Policy 42 3.1.1 Nkrumah's Foreign Policy... 42 3.1.2 The Media in Nkrumah's Foreign Policy 46 3.2 The Media and the NLC's Foreign Policy 51 3.2.1 Foreign Policy Under the NLC's 51 3.2.2 The Media in NLC's Foreign Policy... 52 3.3 The Media and Busia's Foreign Policy 55 3.3.1 Busia's Foreign Policy 55 3.3.2 The Media in Busia's Foreign Policy... 57 3.4 The Media and the NOe's Foreign Policy Under Rawlings... 61 3.4.1 The NOe's Foreign Policy... 61 3.4.2 The Media in NOe's Foreign Policy... 64 CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ... .. . 72 4.1 Findings 72 4.1.1 Test of Hypothesis ... 72 4.1.2 The Centralised Nature of Foreign Policy in Ghana 73 4.1.3 The Question of the Media's Influence on Foreign Policy 75 4.2 Summary 77 4.3 Conclusion 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY 80 v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABBREVIATIONS AAPC All African Peoples' Conference ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation CDU Croat Democratic Union CNN Cable News Network CPP Convention Peoples' Party ECOMOG ECOWAS Monitoring Group ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States FDls Foreign Direct Investments GSA Ghana Bar Association GJA Ghana Journalist Association GNA Ghana News Agency lAS Independent African States IGOs International Governmental Organizations ITN Independent Television Network NAM Non-Aligned Movement NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NDC National Democratic Congress NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations NlC National liberation Council NUGS National Union of Ghanaian Students OAU Organisation of African Unity PDA Party of Democratic Action PP Progress Party SDP Serbian Democratic Party SNM Somali National Movements TUC Trade Union Congress TV Television UN United Nations UNSC United Nations Security Council US United States (of America) USC United Somali Congress USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics WAJA West African Journalists Association University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT The media have often been identified as one of the major competing domestic interests that impact on foreign policies of states. This recognition of the media is seen through the contribution they make to foreign policy. This work takes a look at the media's role and their contribution to foreign policy in the CPP, NLC, PP and the NDC regimes. It also looks at how they helped in shaping foreign policies and their influence on these regimes. The work relied mainly on secondary sources of data in analyzing the media's contribution to foreign policy in Ghana under the above stated regimes. It sees the media as not initiator of foreign policy making but as a mouthpiece that most policies of the govemments become known and discussed by the public, thereby helping to shape some of such foreign policies. It further played the role of proselytizing and sensitizing people on government's foreign policies especially during the CPP regime under Nkrurnah from 1957-1966. The findings of the research point to the fact that for the public to be very active in enriching govemment's foreign policies and for the nation to benefit from that, the media need to be proactive in their contribution to the decision-making level of foreign poliCies of governments. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND STATEMENT The foreign policy of states makes it possible for one to understand how countries relate to each other. Foreign policy determines a country's foreign relations with the outside wor1d. However, fundamental to the making of foreign policy of any country is the national interest. The national interest of any country, therefore, becomes the underpinning factor in the formulation of foreign policy. It is in this light that Kegley and Wittkopf see foreign policy as "the goals that officials, representing a state, seek to achieve abroad, the under1ying values of the set goals, and the means that are used to obtain these goals,,1. This means foreign policy must necessarily conform to a country's national interest and goals. As Kuleke2 contends, national interest becomes the starting point and the guiding compass of a state's foreign policy formulation. The determination of the national interest is, however, constrained by the flux of domestic politics as well as the structure of the prevailing international politics. Thus, the interplay of internal and external politics influences the charting of what constitutes a country's national interest. In a paper, Ambassador CieiandJ , for instance, contends that in the process of foreign policy-making in Ghana, Ghanaian policy-makers have to contend with both intemal and external pressures. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ghana's foreign policy can be seen as constituting her conducts on the intemational scene in relation to the interplay of national interest of other states, in an attempt to realize her own interests. In relation to Ghana's foreign policy- making, like aU other states, apart from the government of the day, that is, the incumbent, internal pressures from civil society and other pressure groups represented by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) , the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), the National Union of Ghanaian Students (NUGS), and the Ghana Joumalists Association (GJA), among others, "can be cited as actors that influence the formulation of foreign policy, however minimal. n4 In the United States, for instance, the formulation and implementation of foreign policy are said to be influenced largely by the Congress, private and public interest groups, as well as the press and public opinion, though it is said the president is the most powerful force in determining foreign policY;. Indeed, America's engagement and disengagement in Somalia, and Bosnia for instance, are said to have been influenced by the media. Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, ''television's ab~ity to bring graphic images of pain and outrage into our living rooms has heightened the pressure on both immediate engagements in areas of intemational crisis and immediate disengagement when events do not go according to plann6. The extent to which the media could be influential in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy depends largely on the country concemed. For instance, by far, the media in the US and Great Britain perform University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh better in terms of their contribution to foreign policy making and implementation. This means that technological advancement, special training and expertise of joumalists and access to information by the media, may contribute immensely to the role the media can play in foreign policy formulation and implementation. The same, however, cannot be said of the media in Ghana. Kabral Blay-Amihere, the President of the West African Journalists Association fY'JAJA) and a fonner President of the Ghana Joumalists Association (GJA) rightly observed that whereas the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees press freedom, there exists a number of factors that inhibit that freedom. He mentioned, among others, the unfavourable legal regime, which, according to him dates back to the colonial and earty times of Ghana's independence. Another inhibiting factor is the Increasing cost of production. He also mentioned the lack of high-level technological capacity as a factor inhibiting the media from performing, as it should. 7 These notwithstanding, the press in Ghana, for instance, is seen by Asamoah 8 and Cleland as playing a significant role in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. Apart from informing the citizens on government's intended policies the media also contrbute to the shaping of the final product of foreign policy. There is, therefore, the need to study the role the media play in Ghana's foreign policy. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT In Ghana, foreign policy-rnaking is a major preoccupation of the government, and this amply finds expression in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana - (Articles 73, 74 and 75). Article 73, for instance, among others, states that ''the Government of Ghana shall conduct its international affairs in consonance with the accepted principles of public international law and diplomacy in a manner consistent with the national interest of Ghanan9 . Articles 74 and 75, on the other hand, seem to invest in the executive, represented by the President, and to a limited extent, parliament, the power to determine and formulate foreign policy in the country. Indeed, works by Ghanaian media practitioners and scholars, of which there are many,1O deal tangentially with foreign policy. The impression one gets from this is that the role of the press in foreign policy is more often assumed than investigated. This is but to say that little effort has been made to establish empirically the nature of the behaviour that shapes the content of foreign policy, or the character of the mechanisms by which media coverage/report has had an effect on foreign policy-rnaking and implementation. This study is, therefore, an attempt to explore the impact if any, which the media have on foreign policy in Ghana, and to identify some of the constraints that intervene between the media and foreign policy. In other words, it seeks to look at how the media, by their work, help in the shaping of Ghana's foreign policy, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh both in formulation and implementation. To do this the study addresses the following questions: • Do the media constitute a domestic source of foreign policy-making in Ghana? • Does the press influence foreign policy through the shaping of foreign policy? • What role does the press play in the implementation of foreign policy? 1.3 OLJECTIVES Of THE STUDY The study has the following Objectives: • To explore the contribution of the media to Ghana's foreign policy; • To explore the influence of the press on foreign policy; and • To advance an understanding of the way the Ghanaian media operate in relation to foreign policy. 1 A HYPOTHESIS This work is guided by the hypothesis that: • The political environment, both external and internal, often determines the media's role in Ghana's foreign policy. 1.5 RATIONALE Of THE STUDY The media, no doubt, play a major role in foreign policy-making in most advanced democracies such as the US, where free expression and public opinion are maximally respected and accommodated. For instance, the media, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh together with public opinion. in the US have often influenced and helped shape some aspect of America's foreign policy especially regarding humanitarian interventions. Examples of some of these include Operation Restore Hope of 1992 in Somalia, and the US intervention in Bosnia Herzegovina in 1994. In the Bosnia Herzegovina's conflict, for instance. it was after graphic images of the effects of a mortar shell, which had killed about 68 people and injured nearly 200 others. had been shown on the television, via 'CNN', that prompted quick reactions from the NATO member states. This has been made possible through empirical studies 11 that have been conducted on the press and foreign policy in America. However, in Ghana the contribution of the press to the shaping of foreign policy, by way of its formulation and implementation, is often assumed than investigated. In other words. such contribution by the press is seen as apparent than real. The danger. however, is that whenever one makes any such assumption, very little effort is made to unearth what really is the case. J. D. Kennamer (1992) vividly captures this scenario that, "when one assumes something, one does not have any reason to study it .... and certainly allows no possibility for the discovery that perhaps it does not work"12. This study is thus premised on the motivation that the press in Ghana is one of the vital components in the process of foreign policy-making. The media can be considered as vital in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy in the sense that apart from informing and sensitizing the citizenry on policies of government, the media can also be seen University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh as setting the agenda that whip up interest and mould the opinions of the citizenry towards the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. As has been indicated earlier, the charting of foreign policy takes into consideration the interest of the nation, which the citizenry has a stake in. Hence, the more one can comprehend this web of relationship existing between the press and foreign policy the clearer would the role of the press in foreign policy become. This, therefore, calls for a study into the role of the media in the formulation and implementation of Ghana's foreign policy. 1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW In one of the major and pioneering works of the media and foreign policy in the US, Cohen'3 assesses the influence and the role the American press makes on foreign policy-making through media report on foreign affairs and their sources of information. He holds two sets of conceptions of the role the press plays, or should play in foreign policy-making process. One set perceives it as a neutral reporter, providing information that enables others to playa part in the fashioning out of policy. Another set defines the press as an active participant playing effective role in the policy-making process. 14 According to Cohen, foreign policy in the US originates in the executive branch of government, in the White House, the Department of State, or the Department of Defense. Explaining the pattem of foreign policy in the US, he says from the executive branch it moves to the press, or it is picked up by the press, which has University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the task of reporting it to the public. Then, after a careful deliberation the public makes up its mind on the issues and communicates its preferences to Congress. The Congress then will be in a position to act on the issues, or to react to them by letting the executive branch know what it thinks. In Cohen's view, the only variation in this pattern excludes the stage of public consideration; in this view the press reports directly to Congress, which then is in a position to act or react as before. In each of these patterns, Cohen (1963) sees the press as occupying the strategic center from which it "neutrally transmits" the facts about foreign policy from one part of the political system to another, that is, from the government to the govemed. Cohen (1963) concludes that the Executive in the US is the initiator of foreign policy proposals, and the Congress reacts to them, taking into consideration public feelings as they may have been shaped by press coverage. Though this work bears semblance to the proposed topiC in the sense that it talks about the press and its role in foreign policy, it is largely written in the American setting. Notwithstanding. this work will be relevant to the topic in the sense that it gives empirical support to the role the press plays in foreign policy. On the other hand, Warren Strobel (1996), a correspondent at the White House in America. in an article,15 has sought to challenge the notion that the media Influence the shaping of the final product of the U.S. foreign policy, especially in areas of military interventions. Citing instances of U.S. interventions in wars in University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh former Yugoslavia; the famine in Somalia, the ethnic slaughter in Rwanda and its resulting mass movement of refugees; and the refusal of coup leaders in Haiti to relinquish power, Strobel challenges the perception of the "CNN Effect". According to him "the notion of the 'CNN Effect' carries with it the idea that the news media independently point out problems and set the govemment foreign policy agenda, especially regarding crises that call for potential U.S. intervention" .18 Making his argument and using the "Operation Restore Hope" in Somalia as an B example, Strobel challenges the widely held belief of the "CNN Effect on three accounts. First, according to him, the levels of television coverage were incompatible with the types of pressure usually associated with the "CNN Effect": sharp increases in the levels of television reporting tended to follow administration actions, rather than precede them. Second, the television coverage (and other media attention) that did take place was almost always a result, not of media initiative and agenda setting, but of deliberate and successful attempts by others - such as the US government relief officials, interested members of Congress, and representatives of NGOs and IGOs - to stir up media interest in Somalia in order to move policy. Finally, Strobel contends that interviews with numerous Bush administration officials made it clear that they intervened in Somalia largely because they expected it to be an exercise with low costs and high political benefrt17. In short, Strobel does not see the press as wielding any influence or having impact on the outcome of a policy. He concludes University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh that, "the case most often held up as an example of the "CNN Effect" - in Somalia - falls apart under close examination. It was not the media that set the agenda in the fall of 1992, but the Bush administration itself, the Congress, and the relief officials in and out of government". He intimated, however, that the 18 horrible images did have an effect, though a narrow one. It should, however. be noted that in as much as Strobel tries to challenge the impact of the media on America's foreign policy, he was not oblivious of the immense role the media play in foreign policy. For instance, though Strobel alludes to the fact that it was President Bush who set the media's agenda regarding the intervention in Somalia, he, however, admitted and recognized the role of the media in this regard. According to him, "it remains possible that a relatively small number of dramatic television news reports moved Bush and his advisors sufficiently to prompt the dispatch of thousands of American combat troops ... Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and other senior officials spoke of news media pressure as one factor that went into their decision"19. The news media is seen as one other agent that plays a significant role in foreign policy. This, therefore, makes Strobel's 'Nork relevant to the topic. In a paper 20 Brandful looks at how one could differentiate between Ghana's foreign policy with regards to ECOWAS and the role played by President J.J Rawlings as the then Chairman of the ECOWAS. He begins his exposition with a iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh reference to an article entitled, Foreign Policy Formulation - A Diffuse and Complicated Process. Brandful observes that in the United States of America, the President is the most powerful force in determining foreign policy. However, powerful as he is, the President is far from being able to make foreign policy on his own. The President takes into account the diffuse nature of power in the US, and the considerable influence that Congress, private and public interest groups, as well as the media and public opinion play in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. According to him, however, this intentional reference to American foreign policy is meant to serve as a backdrop to the discussion of some of Ghana's procedures through which policy is formulated. Focusing on Ghana, Brandful contends that it appears, from a careful reading of Ghana's Constitution, that the President alone has the constitutional power and authority to initiate any formal action in the area of foreign affairs. This, in his view, contrasts with the practice in the US. He contends, however, that a variety of factors influence the actions, which result in the formulation of foreign policy in Ghana. He says, for instance, that even though the 1992 Constitution does not mention the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by name, it is known that this is the ministry responsible for coordinating the conduct of Ghana's relations with other countries and the implementation of her foreign policy. Ambassador K.B. Asante21 has also traced the trend of foreign policy in Ghana from Nkrumah's regime till Rawlings'. He looks at the need for Ghana to chart II University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh policies that are of priority to the nation in order to take advantage of the current wave of international politics, reminding readers of the external pressures. He also touched on cooperation as a priority to be considered, as he thinks that sovereignty is not absolute anymore, not even for the major powers in this shrinking multilateral world. However, much as Asante was placing more emphasis on the external factors affecting foreign policy-making, he was rather quite silent on other internal factors that play an equally important role in foreign policy-making. These, therefore, make it imperative to study the media's role, as one of the internal factors that affect Ghana's foreign policy formulation and implementation 1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK According to Antwi-Oanso,22 international relations studies offer two basic approaches to understanding the foreign policies of states. These are: the constraints and opportunities of the international system; and the economic, social, and political characteristics of states. This means that foreign policies of states are heavily influenced and determined by both external and internal factors. The combination of the above approaches as proposed by Antwi-Oanso, In practice constitute the explanations for the understanding of national foreign policies. He, therefore, proposes a framework within which foreign policy may be moulded or understood, and this includes: the international system; the flux of domestic politics; orientation of the incumbent; and the time in history. He believes that these factors act in concert to produce a foreign policy for a state.23 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Thus taking into consideration the approaches to the understanding of foreign policies of states, and for the purpose of this work we shall work within two theories - the pluralists' and the globalists' theories. Pluralism, alongside realism, was a theory that was in vogue in the 1970s. The pluralists' theory rejects the realists' assertion that the state is a unitary actor. The pluralists are of the view that "the state is not a reified entity - an abstraction to be treated as if it were physical being that acts with single minded determination, always a coherent manner".24 The pluralists, instead, see the state as composed of individual bureaucracies, interest groups, and individuals that attempt to formulate or influence foreign policy. In their view, for instance, to speak of a 'US foreign policy' is to speak of a number of foreign policy decisions determined by competition among a number of actors25 such as the Executive branch, represented by the President. the Legislature, the public, the media, and other individuals and interest groups. The pluralists, therefore, see the state as disintegrated made up of different component parts as opposed to the view held by the realists that the state is an integrated entity. The pluralists further challenge the usefulness of the realist assumption that sees the state as a rational actor. According to Viotti and Kauppi, this challenge "follows logically from the pluralist image of the disaggregated state in which the foreign policy decision-making process is the result of clashes, bargaining, and compromise between and among different actors".26 From the foregoing. the I, University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh theory of pluralism seeks to make intelligible the notion that the state (represented by the government in power - incumbent) is not the sole determining factor in foreign policies of states. Rather, the state is composed of different components such as individual bureaucracies, interest groups, and other individuals, among others that attempt to formulate, influence or playa role in foreign policy. This, therefore, sees foreign policy choice as occurring in an environment of multiple and competing interests, that is to say, the flux of domestic politics and the orientation of the incumbent. The media's role is seen as one of the competing interests that influence foreign policy. Another theory worth looking at, and which is relevant to this work is that of globalism Unlike pluralism, it is only recently that attention has been focused on the globalist perspective.27 Globalists assume that the starting point of analysis for international relations is the global context within which states and other entities interact. This theory emphasizes the overall structure of the international system. In other words, in order to be able to explain the behaviour of states, one must first grasp the essence of the global environment within which such behaviour takes place. This is a dominant theme within the globalist image/perspective, although some realists and pluralists share this view as well. According to Viotti and Kauppi, understanding the external behaviour of states requires more than merely examining factors internal to the state28 such as the Executive, the Legislature, the media and public opinion, and individuals or groups of individuals or organisations. That is to say, the structure of the system 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh at a particular time determines or influences largely the kind of foreign policies states make. For instance, the tight bipolar regime of the Cold War era influenced largely foreign policies of states. Nkrumah's policy of positive neutrality and non- alignment was necessary and appropriate at the time during the peak of the Cold War. Similarly, Finland's neutrality in the Cold War helped ensure her survival in the face of a powerful and threatening neighbour, Soviet Union, which was an active player in the systemic structure at the time. 29 The structure of the international system may include alliances (be they military or economic), international law, membership of international organizations, international treaties and conventions, among others. The globalists assume further that, it is not only useful but also imperative to view international relations from a historical perspective. This is because, it is contended, it is only through an examination of history that one can understand the current environment within which politics takes place. The use of the above theories of international relations as the theoretical framework will help us understand the nature of foreign policy formulation and implementation and the competing roles that other interest groups; both internal and external; and individuals, beside the state, play. As it is succinctly captured by Russett and Starr, "the menu for any state is constrained or affected not only by its own capabilities, goals, policies, and actions but also by those of the state with which it interacts".3o The effective role of the media is seen within the interplay of both internal and external influences on foreign policies of states. This is because, just I" University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh like the decision-makers, the media's role in foreign policy is constrained by the influences of both the internal and external environments. 1.8 DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS Among the key concepts that are used in the work include the following: • Media/Press: - These are used interchangeably to refer to the print and the electronic media, that is, newspapers, television and radio stations. • Foreign Policy: - It refers to that policy evolved by a state in its relations with other states. • Foreign Policy-Making: - This refers to the process of evolving a principle of action by a state in relation to other states • Decision-Making: - A process being adopted to achieve a desired course of action. • National Interest: - This refers to that interest of the state that can never be compromised, no matter the government in power, such as the protection and enhancement of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state, national security, and the enhancement of the socio- economic well being of the citizenry. • Economic Diplomacy: - This refers to the foreign policy designed by the PNDC/NDC government that seeks to maintain friendly relations with all countries and create the enabling environment for foreign capital inflows. • Cold War:- It refers to the ideological rivalry that existed between the USA and her allies on one hand, and the former Soviet Union and its 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh allies on the other. This period was often punctuated by proxy wars and exchanges but never did the two opposing blocs engage each other in a military war. • Non-alignment and Positive Neutrality:- It represents non-commitment to the world's dominant ideological blocs, and the preservation of the right and freedom to judge world issues on their own merit. It entailed staying off clearly from any military or political alliance with any of the powers in the Cold War era. • Non-Aligned Movement:- It refers to an organisation of mostly developing countries that came into being during the period of the Cold War. Its purpose is to ensure that members stay neutral during the Cold War and at the same time fosters a closer relations and cooperation between member states as a way of attaining world peace and economic development. • Neo-Colonialism:- This was seen by Nkrumah as a situation representing imperialism in its final stage. According to him, a state subject to neo-colonialism in theory is independent but has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty - with economic system and, consequently, its political policy controlled from outside. • Imperialism:- This term was originally used as an invective against the expansionist policy of Napoleon I, and a little later against the expansionist policy of Britain. It is used in this context to refer to political I ~ University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and economic exploitation of the developing nations by the capitalist countries. • Pan-Africanism:- This is used to refer to the ideals of liberation, unification, and development of the African continent. 1.9 SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION This study was conducted using secondary sources of data collection. • The Daily Graphic, the Ghanaian Times, the Evening News, The Spark, the Pioneer, the Chronicle, the Sunday Mirror, and the Legon Observer were sampled for editorials, features, and articles on aspects of Ghana's foreign policy for analysis. • Journals, Articles, Books, Pamphlets, and other scholarly works and publications relevant to the topic were used and consulted where appropriate. 1.10 LIMITATIONS It should be noted that this work is an exploratory attempt and as a result not much work has already been done on the topic. As a result, there seems to be lack of adequate literature on the topic. Moreover, it was the original plan of the work to trace the role of the media in all the regimes - from independence to the present regime - this could not be done looking at the volume of the work and the time constraint. The study was. therefore, limited to some selected regimes of government - the Nkrumah regime (1957-66), the NLC regime (1966-69), Busia regime (1969-72) and the NDC regime under President Rawlings (1993-2000). 18 :t.~c-6r-:c~.,.",.:,r\ ~i :? /", \..."t:~I>,,,. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Consequently, the eight newspapers sampled for the work were largely limited to the periods of the selected regimes. 1.11 ARRANGEMENT OF CHAPTERS the background statement, problem statement, objectives, rationale, literature review, theoretical framework, limitations and the arrangement of chapters, Chapter Two looks at the press and foreign policy in the USA. It takes a look at the role of the press in some selected instances of the US military interventions and humanitarian aid as a case study. Chapter Three looks at the role of the press and Ghana's foreign policy on epochal basis. The regimes selected for study include the Nkrumah, Busia, NLC, and the NDC regimes. Chapter Four, which is the concluding chapter, consists of findings, summary and conclusion of the work. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh END NOTES 1Kegley. C.W. & Wittkopf. E.R.. World Politics: Trend and Transformation, rt" ed.). Worth Publishers Inc .• USA, 1999, p.44 2 Kuleke, J. A. Ghana's Foreign Policy With Respect to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) - The Role of Parliament in Ameyedowo & Briku-Boadi (eds.) Parliament and Foreign Policy Making in Ghana. Gold-Type Publications Ltd. Accra. 1995 3 Cleland. J.Q .. "The Process of Foreign Policy-Making in Ghana", A Seminar Paper Presented to Students of LECIA, 1990 4 See Cleland, J.Q. op. cit., and Asamoah, O.Y., "The Making of Ghanaian Foreign Policy" in Pepera, S. (ed.), The LECIA Bulletin, January 1991, Vol. 1 , No.1, p. 26 5 Brandful, W.G.M., Foreign Policy Making With Respect to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Ameyedowo. E.O .. and Briku-Boadi, (eds.) Parliament and Foreign Policy Making, Gold-Type Publications Ltd .. Accra, 1995 6 Source Internet@DIAinterview.htm , (DIA interview with Richard P. O'Neill, Deputy Director, Strategy and Policy. Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, USA (August 26, 1997). 7 Blay-Amihere, K., State of the Media in Ghana. in Blay-Amihere, K., and Alabi. N .. (eds.) State of the Media in West Africa: 1995-1996. Gold-Type Publications ltd .. Accra, 1996 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8 Asamoah, Y.a., "The Making of Foreign Policy" in Pepra, 5., The LE~/A Bul/etin, (Jan. 1991, Vol. 1 No.1), and Cleland, J.Q., "The Process of Foreign Policy-Making in Ghana", 1990 9 See the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, p. 62 10 See, for instance, such works as State of the Media in West Africa: 1995- 1996, by Blay-Amihere and Alabi (eds.), 1996; State of the Media in Ghana: 1994-1995, by Afriyie-Badu and Blay-Amihere (eds.), 1995; The Law and the Journalist, by Mensah-Bonsu, 1997; and Independent Broadcasting in Ghana: Implications and Cha"enges~ by Karikari, (ed.) 1994; and Press Freedom in Africa, by Faringer, L.G., (1991). 11 See, for instance, such works as The Press and Foreign Policy, by B.C. Cohen (1963); The Media and US Policies Toward Intervention: A Closer Look at the "CNN" Effect. by Warren Strobel (1996); and Intervention Issues in the Post-Cold War, by Razali and Kikim (1998), among others. 12 Kennamer, J.D., (ed.), The Public Opinion, the Press, and Public Policy, Praeger Publishers, USA, 1992, pp. 1-2 13 Cohen, B.C., The Press and Foreign Policy, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1963 14 Ibid. Pp.19-20 15 Strobel, W.P., The Media and US Policies Toward Intervention: A Closer Look a! the "CNN Effect in Crocker, CA, & Hampson, F.a., with Aall, P., (eds.) Managtng Global Chaos: Sources of and Responses to International Conflicts,_The Endowment of the US Institute of Peace, USA, 1996 16lbid. p. 364 17 Ibid. p. 360 18 Ibid. p. 366 19 Ibid. p. 364 20 Brandful, Foreign Policy with Respect to the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, in Ameyedowo, E.a., & Briku-Boadi, E., (eds.), Parliament and Foreign Policy Making in Ghana~ 1995, pp 29-48 21 Asante, K.B., Foreign Policy Making in Ghana, Gold-Type Ltd., Accra, 1997 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 22 Antwi-Danso. V .. "New Issues Influencing Ghana's Foreign Policy Orientation", an Address at a Workshop on 'Economic Diplomacy: The Changing Face of Ghana's Diplomacy', (Unpublished) 23 lbid. 24 Viotti. P.R. & Kauppi. MV. International Relations Theory: Rea/ism, Pluralism, Globalism (2"d ed.). Macmillan Publishing Company. USA, 1993. p.7 25 Ibid. 26 Ibid. p. 8 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. p. 9 29 1Kegley. C.W. & Wittkopf. E.R.. World Politics: Trend and Transformation, (tt' ed.). Worth Publishers Inc. . USA. 1999, p.46 30 Russett. B. & Starr, H .. World Politics: The Menu for Choice (2"d Ed.), W.H. Freeman and Company. NY. 1985, p. 127 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO THE PRESS AND FOREIGN POLICY IN THE U.S This chapter focuses on the role of the press in America's foreign policy. It discusses briefly, among others, the role of the press in either influencing or helping to shape America's foreign policy especially in the areas of military interventions and foreign aids/assistance. The chapter seeks to put in focus the role that the media play elsewhere, as a prelude to the main work, which looks at it from the perspective of Ghana. In doing this it should be emphasized that this chapter is not meant to presuppose any comparative analysis between the foreign policies of Ghana and US. Instead, it is meant to bring to the fore the role that the media play in the US as a way of sharpening our understanding and appreciation of what pertains in Ghana. It is also meant to emphasize our point that the media really playa role in foreign policy. The making of foreign policy in America involves a host of agencies. Beside the executive branch of government that often initiates foreign policy, the legislature, private and public interests, and the media, to an extent, contribute to the making and implementation of foreign policy. The role of the media in America's foreign policy is well recognized and acknowledged. According to Cohen, ''the most obvious external impingement on the governmental foreign policy making process" for instance, "is that of the press: day after day, with great persistence, the press invades the official circle of policy-makers, while other segments of the 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh public try with indifferent success to get just an occasional hearing".1 According to Cohen, the impact of the media in the USA is felt in the sense that foreign policy making offICials such as those in the State Department get information sooner through the press than through official routes. Besides, the press is seen as providing an independent report, outside of the diplomatic channel, on what is happening around the world. Cohen, therefore, sees the press in America as providing access to offICers/specialists and other agents or officials of foreign policy-making agents of information, and thus these officials eventually become dependent on the media for their broader knowledge of international developments.2 It is further said that Ross Perot declared in his 1992 US presidential election campaign3 that instantaneous world-wide communications have rendered embassies and their inhabitants relics of the days of sailing ships. What this means is that with the availability of modern news media technologies that can instantaneously transmit video signals to and from virtually every comer of the globe, the work of officials of embassies that involves, among others, supplying the US govemment of intelligence reports that previously helped in the formulating of foreign policies is really in peril. This is due to the fact that more sophisticated news media have heavily established the needed on-the- spot information that are often reliable and even more effective than the previously undue delay experienced in coding and decoding of intelligence reports from officials of foreign embassies. University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Furthermore, Eban04 contends that in the late 196Os, American public, via the media, exercised greater pressure on US negotiators against persistence in the Vietnam War. According to him, Henry Kissinger has recorded that the Nixon administration's bargaining position was weakened by evidence that the public settled for unconditional withdrawal without making any demands on Hanoi for reciprocal concessions. Making references to recent developments and the role of the press, Eban further contends that the intervention in Sarajevo was made possible with graphic images by the media. He, for instance, believes that it was only when visual portrayal of terrorist bombardments with dozens of dead and maimed finaUy became unendurable in the HYing rooms of officials of the Western countries - via television - that NATO countries brought up aircraft carriers and bomber squadrons, in a bid to stem the mayhem. He is of the opinion that "it was only when the outrage of ethnic cleansing became visual on television screens, with pitiful portrayals of masses moving fttNay from their homes toward uncertain destinies, that negotiated settlements became possible"5 For the role of the media in America's foreign policy to be clearly seen this chapter is fOCUSing on some instances of America's interventions that the role of the media made outstanding. 2.1 US INTERVENTION IN THE VIETNAM WAR (1964-1973) America became militarily involved in the Vietnam War in 1961, according to "The Media Reporr&, when as part of US strategy for South East Asia President 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The US untimely withdrawal from the war as a result of intense domestic outcry, however, is often attributed to the role the media reports played during the war. Vietnam was the first ever televised war, which was largely uncensored, and as a result the media could report the war with vivid detail back in the US. According to The American News Media In Vietnam8, the media could not be censored in Vietnam largely because Congress never offICially declared it a war and that the US were "formally 'guesf of the Vietnamese government. .. so for the first time in the twentieth century the media were able to cover a war with nearty the freedom they have covering political news in the United States·. As a result of this situation the American news media coverage of the war served as a catalyst for helping to shape American public opinion, resulting in political pressures that forced the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam. The televised and graphic images and the horrified stories of the war carried by the major newspapers and television stations were enough to incite public outcry and anger at the US government to pull out of the war. According to The Media Reporf, the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces in Vietnam (General William Westmoreland) was of the view that television, for instance, presented special problems and brought the war into American homes. Consequently, the war that Americans saw via television was almost exclusively violent, miserable, or controversial - guns firing, men falling, helicopters crashing, buildings toppling, huts burning, refugees fleeing, and women wailing. According to the General, "a shot of a single building in ruins could give an impression of an entire town destroyed. The propensity of cameramen at Kasan to pose their commentators 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh before a wrecked C 130 and deliver reports in a tone of voice suggesting doomsday was all too common-,10 Furthermore, recounting a nightmarish experience about the war, Lawrence Lichty, a Professor from the North Western University of Illinois, says that "When I watched the NBC one night and saw what we now describe as the Louan shooting, seeing General Nuoc Louan with a pistol in his hand in the streets of Saigon", and shot a captured Viet Cong suspect right through the head, ... that story on Friday night on American television was witnessed by 25-million people-", These picturesque scenes during the war, provided by the media, spurred a public outcry and later alienated the American government, forcing an end to the war. It can, therefore, be said that the role of the press in the Vietnam War helped put an end to American's involvement in the war, as the pub6c back home could no longer contain their emotions on the horrific mages being televised on the screens and the horrible ston.s read in the newspapers. ~ \.. ..f - ...~ 2.2 US INTERVENTION IN THE GULF WAR - OPERATION"". ....P oft DESERT STORM (1990-1991) The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 was the first major crisis of the post-Cold War era. At the beginning of the crisis, 140,000 Iraqi troops and 1,800 tanks moved into Kuwait, including two Republican Guard divisions - the Hammurabi and the Medina. 12 The Origin of the invasion by Iraq of Kuwait, according to Razali and Kikim, can be traced to the Iran-Iraq War, fought between 1980-1988. At the end of this war, I raq was burdened with massive 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh allied states overran the forces of Saddam, and by March 3 1991, Iraq had accepted UN Security CouneR Resolution 686, which dictated to Iraq the terms of her defeat. With this victory, the coalition forces, made up, largely, of US forces, achieved completely the first three of the four goals, as elaborated above, and achieved the fourth in part.18 It cannot be doubted here that even though the initiative was taken by the Bush administration to intervene in Kuwaiti invasion, the role played by the media in this is weH recommended. Through the media, even long before the outcome of the war was certain, public opinion was enough to convince the Bush administration that Americans would support the intervention effort. This can be attributed to the fact that the extensive media coverage of the crisis itself - via CNN - and later the war, solidified public opinion and kept it as it developed. According to Strobel, the media "was seen most vividly during the Persian Gulf War when the Bush White House, knowing that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's top aides were reluctant to bring him bad news, got into Sad dam's living room via CNN~17. Thus the media played a dual role in this regard, helping both in the formulation and implementation of the policy of intervention in the Gulf War of 1990-1991. The media succeeded in marshalling support, both domestically and intemationally for Operation Desert Storm. 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.3 US INTERVENTION IN SOMALIA - OPERATION RESTORE HOPE (1992-1993) Somalia, often referred to as the Hom of Africa. which is situated along the East Coast of Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, progressively slid into anarchy two decades earlier with the military overthrow of the constitutional government of Abdi Rashid Ali Shermari