Professor Dzodzi Tsikata of the Department of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London, has strongly criticised the state of liberal democracy in Ghana, asserting that it has not delivered on its promises to the people.
According to her, the current political framework limits meaningful civic participation to mere voting, leaving citizens with little control over broader democratic processes, exposing significant flaws in Ghana’s democracy.
During the inaugural public lecture in honor of the late Akoto Ampaw, held at the University of Ghana on Wednesday, October 23, Prof. Tsikata stated, “The crisis of citizenship has also exposed the false promise of liberal democracy.”
She explained that neoliberal policies have eroded Ghanaians’ capacity to engage actively in the democratic process, undermining the core principles of civic involvement.
Additionally, she raised concerns about the increasing rise of authoritarianism and the influence of unaccountable non-state actors, which she believes have further restricted citizens’ ability to fully exercise their democratic rights.
“This together with the rampaging neo-liberalism has circumscribed civil citizenship into an eco-chamber where citizens are allowed to vent their frustration without redress and with the promise that in the next four years, they are going to be able to change a government. Even with this little space of frustration, is fast shrinking.
“We’ve seen the rise in the state of authoritarianism on the one hand but also the rise of conservative and unaccountable non-state actors on the other hand. We are in this complicated situation where citizen groups are under severe attack but also are perpetrators of bystanders.
“Take the media, for example, the attack on media personnel by party political operatives and cohesive arms of the state has become quite rampant and alarming and should be condemned and resisted,” he stated.
