The politics of migration policy implementation in Ghana

Abstract

This article dives into the complex web of actors and processes of migration policy implementation in Ghana, revealing political tensions as they play out in this field. The analysis is based on semi‐structured interviews with bureaucrats and practitioners involved in migration governance initiatives in Ghana. The study reveals how institutional power hierarchies and funding structures affect execution processes on the ground. Mapping out observations concerning implementation as it is experienced across the vertical scale of involved actors, the study reveals that politics are engrained in Ghanaian migration policy implementation through experiences of (1) incoherent narratives on policy and migration; (2) local‐level exclusion from policy design; and (3) mismatch between policy targets and local realities. The article concludes by contemplating theoretical needs and proposing avenues for future research.