Ghana: Gateway to West African Stability?

Domestically, Ghanaian democracy is thriving amidst a virulent opposition that is gearing to stage a come back to the political podium. Parliamentary and Presidential elections are billed for 2004 and the atmosphere is (as it has been since the 2000 elections) already rife with politics. Ghanaians seem to talk and live politics every day. Local FM radio talk shows have all been about politics, dominated by the scramble for visibility and consolidation of gains by officials, supporters, or sympathizers of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) or the opposition and former ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). The picture of Ghana painted above is quite rosy, but is the impression as positive under the surface? This article takes a cursory look at the strengths of the present Ghanaian dispensation, the stakes, and the grey areas of the Ghanaian drive towards democracy and economic consolidation as a West African peace house.