Pub Date : 2024-02-17DOI: 10.1177/00219096241228793
Ọ. Àkànle, Fikayomi Ogundele
Most studies have documented experiences of single parents focusing more predominantly on realities of females. This is especially so in studies on Africa where single parenting has been commonly narrated as core cluster of patriarchy and feminization of gender oppression. In this article, the authors contribute to knowledge by examining single parenting from experiences of men – male single parents in patriarchal context of Africa thereby nuancing essentialist explanations of single parenting that have reified traditional patriarchy as mainstreaming single parenting into existences of a particular gender. This empirical article explores male single parenting through 30 in-depth interviews triangulated with autoethnography leveraging over 10 years of the authors’ primary insights, contextual lived experiences and observation. Issues examined include: worldviews about male single parents, consequences of male single parenting, companionship deficits occasioned by male single parenting, support systems and perceived benefits of male single parenting in context. Findings show many male single parents do not get formal supports, like from government agencies and non-governmental organizations, but they get informal supports from their kinship and social networks like families, friends and neighbours. Sense of maleness – sense of wanting to show being a strong man – do not make many male single parents seek supports from people as they do not want to be seen as weak if they seek supports. While some single fathers enjoy emotional supports from networks, they suffer serious financial pressures and insufficiency as they are not able to get financial assistance from anyone or organization. This is very important against the background of poor economic system in which male single parents live.
{"title":"Context of Male Single Parenting in Nigeria","authors":"Ọ. Àkànle, Fikayomi Ogundele","doi":"10.1177/00219096241228793","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241228793","url":null,"abstract":"Most studies have documented experiences of single parents focusing more predominantly on realities of females. This is especially so in studies on Africa where single parenting has been commonly narrated as core cluster of patriarchy and feminization of gender oppression. In this article, the authors contribute to knowledge by examining single parenting from experiences of men – male single parents in patriarchal context of Africa thereby nuancing essentialist explanations of single parenting that have reified traditional patriarchy as mainstreaming single parenting into existences of a particular gender. This empirical article explores male single parenting through 30 in-depth interviews triangulated with autoethnography leveraging over 10 years of the authors’ primary insights, contextual lived experiences and observation. Issues examined include: worldviews about male single parents, consequences of male single parenting, companionship deficits occasioned by male single parenting, support systems and perceived benefits of male single parenting in context. Findings show many male single parents do not get formal supports, like from government agencies and non-governmental organizations, but they get informal supports from their kinship and social networks like families, friends and neighbours. Sense of maleness – sense of wanting to show being a strong man – do not make many male single parents seek supports from people as they do not want to be seen as weak if they seek supports. While some single fathers enjoy emotional supports from networks, they suffer serious financial pressures and insufficiency as they are not able to get financial assistance from anyone or organization. This is very important against the background of poor economic system in which male single parents live.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139959945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hate speech on social media platforms during electioneering campaign has been institutionalized. The campaign hate-filled rhetoric continues unabated. Some have attributed this phenomenon to access to social media. This study therefore investigates the prevalence of hate speech on Twitter in Nigeria. Twitter API was used to generate data that was later content analyzed. Anchored on the technological determinism theory, the study revealed political periods saw the prevalence of hate speech and political, ethnic, religion and regional-based hate speech are the dominant themes on hate discourse on Twitter. Some regions in Nigeria weaponized Twitter to denigrate others while others used it to promote their agitation but in the process also resort to hate speech. The study argued that Twitter is just a technology in the hand of hate-filled people who used it to promote their bigotry and bile. This study recommends the development of a legal framework for the regulation of hate speech on social media. Also, the utterance of politicians must be guarded, and the electoral acts must be fully implemented.
{"title":"Politicization of Hate and Weaponization of Twitter/X in a Polarized Digital Space in Nigeria","authors":"Abdulhameed Olaitan Ridwanullah, Sulaiman Ya’u Sule, Bashiru Usman, Lauratu Umar Abdulsalam","doi":"10.1177/00219096241230500","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241230500","url":null,"abstract":"Hate speech on social media platforms during electioneering campaign has been institutionalized. The campaign hate-filled rhetoric continues unabated. Some have attributed this phenomenon to access to social media. This study therefore investigates the prevalence of hate speech on Twitter in Nigeria. Twitter API was used to generate data that was later content analyzed. Anchored on the technological determinism theory, the study revealed political periods saw the prevalence of hate speech and political, ethnic, religion and regional-based hate speech are the dominant themes on hate discourse on Twitter. Some regions in Nigeria weaponized Twitter to denigrate others while others used it to promote their agitation but in the process also resort to hate speech. The study argued that Twitter is just a technology in the hand of hate-filled people who used it to promote their bigotry and bile. This study recommends the development of a legal framework for the regulation of hate speech on social media. Also, the utterance of politicians must be guarded, and the electoral acts must be fully implemented.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139959578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-17DOI: 10.1177/00219096241230482
A. Imtiyaz, Amjad Mohamed-Saleem
Since the late-19th century, for political expediency, the Sri Lankan Muslims have used Islam as a marker of identity difference which has suffered due to the tensions of religious and ethnic identity markers. Unlike Tamils and Sinhalese ethnic groups, Sri Lanka Muslim elites did not choose language as their primary identity marker but sought to differentiate themselves based on the practices and traditions of Islamic faith. These tensions have manifested in several ways, however, following the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, there has been a great strain placed on Muslim representation as questions have been asked as to whether the religious identity has laid the foundations for the radicalization of the Muslims, especially in the wake of global Islamophobia and concerns about security. Therefore, it is important to answer questions related to Islamic identity manifestation in Sri Lanka: What is the role of an Islamic religious identity in radicalizing Sri Lankan Muslims? Why did Sri Lanka become a convenient place for IS’ activities? Did religious identity alone cause the radicalization of some Muslims? This article would attempt to answer these questions by (1) revisiting the Muslim community’s identity formation before the independence, (2) explaining Islamic identity in the post-independence Sri Lanka and the political representation to win votes and mobilize support during the ethnic civil war between Tamils and Sinhalese, and (3) analyzing factors that contributed to the radicalization of Muslims, and Islam. Drawing mostly on secondary sources, the article attempts to situate Sri Lanka Muslims’ identity formation in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict and reconciliation. Using answers from interviews conducted through Zoom, WeChat, and WhatsApp, the article assesses the behavior of Sri Lanka Muslims in the face of the 2019 terrorist attack by some Muslims. The article finds that religious identity alone is not sufficient to trigger violence, as evidence suggests that underlying socio-economic as well as political grievances produce polarization and radical actions. We argue that long-standing arguments tying radical actions solely to religion may require substantial revision and need to be situated within a wider frame of national reconciliation especially if it does not consider existing contexts.
{"title":"Islamic Faith as an Ethnic Identity Marker: Overview of Sri Lanka Muslim Identity Formation, Politicization, and Violence","authors":"A. Imtiyaz, Amjad Mohamed-Saleem","doi":"10.1177/00219096241230482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241230482","url":null,"abstract":"Since the late-19th century, for political expediency, the Sri Lankan Muslims have used Islam as a marker of identity difference which has suffered due to the tensions of religious and ethnic identity markers. Unlike Tamils and Sinhalese ethnic groups, Sri Lanka Muslim elites did not choose language as their primary identity marker but sought to differentiate themselves based on the practices and traditions of Islamic faith. These tensions have manifested in several ways, however, following the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, there has been a great strain placed on Muslim representation as questions have been asked as to whether the religious identity has laid the foundations for the radicalization of the Muslims, especially in the wake of global Islamophobia and concerns about security. Therefore, it is important to answer questions related to Islamic identity manifestation in Sri Lanka: What is the role of an Islamic religious identity in radicalizing Sri Lankan Muslims? Why did Sri Lanka become a convenient place for IS’ activities? Did religious identity alone cause the radicalization of some Muslims? This article would attempt to answer these questions by (1) revisiting the Muslim community’s identity formation before the independence, (2) explaining Islamic identity in the post-independence Sri Lanka and the political representation to win votes and mobilize support during the ethnic civil war between Tamils and Sinhalese, and (3) analyzing factors that contributed to the radicalization of Muslims, and Islam. Drawing mostly on secondary sources, the article attempts to situate Sri Lanka Muslims’ identity formation in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict and reconciliation. Using answers from interviews conducted through Zoom, WeChat, and WhatsApp, the article assesses the behavior of Sri Lanka Muslims in the face of the 2019 terrorist attack by some Muslims. The article finds that religious identity alone is not sufficient to trigger violence, as evidence suggests that underlying socio-economic as well as political grievances produce polarization and radical actions. We argue that long-standing arguments tying radical actions solely to religion may require substantial revision and need to be situated within a wider frame of national reconciliation especially if it does not consider existing contexts.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139960432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-15DOI: 10.1177/00219096241228784
Paul C. Ezinna, Cordelia Ozoemena Idoko, David C. Nwogbo
The functions and actions of a State represent and characterize what it is. Police, as the most visible institution in a civil society, represent the character of the government within a State. In line with this thought, the actions of the ‘Special Anti-Robbery Squad – SARS’, a unit in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), attracted the ire of the public against the government which led to international anti-police brutality campaign known as ‘#EndSARS Movement’. Among other concerns, the study sought to address the question – ‘Can activism in criminology like the “#EndSARS Movement” make the police accountable to the citizens?’
{"title":"The State and Accountable Policing: A Diagnosis of #ENDSARS Movement in Nigeria","authors":"Paul C. Ezinna, Cordelia Ozoemena Idoko, David C. Nwogbo","doi":"10.1177/00219096241228784","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241228784","url":null,"abstract":"The functions and actions of a State represent and characterize what it is. Police, as the most visible institution in a civil society, represent the character of the government within a State. In line with this thought, the actions of the ‘Special Anti-Robbery Squad – SARS’, a unit in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), attracted the ire of the public against the government which led to international anti-police brutality campaign known as ‘#EndSARS Movement’. Among other concerns, the study sought to address the question – ‘Can activism in criminology like the “#EndSARS Movement” make the police accountable to the citizens?’","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139962874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-15DOI: 10.1177/00219096241228778
Masooma Shakir
The emerging role of private sector in neoliberal city development is creating disconnect of contemporary public space with physical and social context. The following paper uses four case studies of public spaces within Karachi, mega city of Pakistan, to highlight the developing trends creating lack of context integration to place. The main research question for this study is, how well do the contemporary public spaces cater to inclusivity and integration with social and physical context? The research methodology used is mixed methods and qualitative research. Surveys and interviews conducted evaluate success factors and limitations in design approach to public spaces.
{"title":"Context Integration and Inclusivity in Contemporary Public Spaces of Major City From Global South—Case of Karachi, Pakistan","authors":"Masooma Shakir","doi":"10.1177/00219096241228778","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241228778","url":null,"abstract":"The emerging role of private sector in neoliberal city development is creating disconnect of contemporary public space with physical and social context. The following paper uses four case studies of public spaces within Karachi, mega city of Pakistan, to highlight the developing trends creating lack of context integration to place. The main research question for this study is, how well do the contemporary public spaces cater to inclusivity and integration with social and physical context? The research methodology used is mixed methods and qualitative research. Surveys and interviews conducted evaluate success factors and limitations in design approach to public spaces.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139962557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-15DOI: 10.1177/00219096241228939
Belkacem Belmekki
This article seeks to highlight the extent to which recounting historical narratives can determine the nature of relations between racial and ethnic groups, through examining the case of Muslims and Hindus in British India. Throughout the 19th century, the process of the religious communalization of the subcontinent was set in motion, which ultimately led to the bifurcation of the local society into two self-conscious, mutually antagonistic groups: a Hindu majority versus a Muslim minority. This study argues that such schism would not have taken place without the instrumentalization of a colonially ‘constructed’ past by Hindu communalists who, in the process of mobilizing their co-religionists through mythmaking and a hostile discourse fraught with subjectively interpreted historical facts, alienated the members of the other group. This article also underscores that besides imperial scholars, Hindutva activists should bear the historical responsibility for the divide.
{"title":"The Perpetuation of Muslim–Hindu Divide in British India Through the (Ab)Use of Historical Memory","authors":"Belkacem Belmekki","doi":"10.1177/00219096241228939","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241228939","url":null,"abstract":"This article seeks to highlight the extent to which recounting historical narratives can determine the nature of relations between racial and ethnic groups, through examining the case of Muslims and Hindus in British India. Throughout the 19th century, the process of the religious communalization of the subcontinent was set in motion, which ultimately led to the bifurcation of the local society into two self-conscious, mutually antagonistic groups: a Hindu majority versus a Muslim minority. This study argues that such schism would not have taken place without the instrumentalization of a colonially ‘constructed’ past by Hindu communalists who, in the process of mobilizing their co-religionists through mythmaking and a hostile discourse fraught with subjectively interpreted historical facts, alienated the members of the other group. This article also underscores that besides imperial scholars, Hindutva activists should bear the historical responsibility for the divide.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139962181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-15DOI: 10.1177/00219096241230495
Engida Esayas Dube, Alison Brown
Informality arguably remains the main source of employment and income for most participants in the cities of the Global South. It is rampant in cities along national borders and transport routes. This paper discusses the ‘normality of informality’, exploring the nexus between contraband, conflict and informal cross-border trade in a local–transnational space, drawing from Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia. Data were collected through key informants and in-depth interviews in 2015/2016 and 2019. This study also benefitted from secondary sources. Since its establishment in 1902, the city has become a major hub of commerce, industry, transportation, and cross-border trade. Combining the literature on the informal economy and cross-border trade and drawing on evidence from eastern Ethiopia, this study explores how trade is deeply embedded in local–transnational interactions through partnerships between state and non-state actors. This study argues that informal cross-border trade is a societal mode of provisioning with extensive livelihood opportunities that survive even through periods of conflict and repression. Thus, reducing the vulnerability of participants in informal cross-border trade could be a more effective policy target than eradicating them.
{"title":"‘Normalizing Informality’ in Local–Transnational Spaces: Contraband, Conflict and Street Trade in Eastern Ethiopia","authors":"Engida Esayas Dube, Alison Brown","doi":"10.1177/00219096241230495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241230495","url":null,"abstract":"Informality arguably remains the main source of employment and income for most participants in the cities of the Global South. It is rampant in cities along national borders and transport routes. This paper discusses the ‘normality of informality’, exploring the nexus between contraband, conflict and informal cross-border trade in a local–transnational space, drawing from Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia. Data were collected through key informants and in-depth interviews in 2015/2016 and 2019. This study also benefitted from secondary sources. Since its establishment in 1902, the city has become a major hub of commerce, industry, transportation, and cross-border trade. Combining the literature on the informal economy and cross-border trade and drawing on evidence from eastern Ethiopia, this study explores how trade is deeply embedded in local–transnational interactions through partnerships between state and non-state actors. This study argues that informal cross-border trade is a societal mode of provisioning with extensive livelihood opportunities that survive even through periods of conflict and repression. Thus, reducing the vulnerability of participants in informal cross-border trade could be a more effective policy target than eradicating them.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139962505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The nexus between democracy and infrastructural development is debatable. In Nigeria, democracy appears to be discombobulated with infrastructural underdevelopment. On whether democracy constructed more roads than the military, two subsequent administrations were studied in Southeastern Nigerian Enugu State. The article draws on quantitative and qualitative data and stewardship theory. The study reveals that the roads constructed between 1999 and 2007 were better in quality and evenly distributed as against those constructed between 2007 and 2015 which was lopsided, though with more roads. Corruption among others impeded road construction and the study suggested among others addressing the major causes of corruption.
{"title":"Democracy and Road Construction in Nigeria: A study of Enugu State, 1999–2015","authors":"Nwosu Okwudili Chukwuma, Nwande Matthias Chukwuma, Emmanuel Ugwuerua","doi":"10.1177/00219096241228758","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241228758","url":null,"abstract":"The nexus between democracy and infrastructural development is debatable. In Nigeria, democracy appears to be discombobulated with infrastructural underdevelopment. On whether democracy constructed more roads than the military, two subsequent administrations were studied in Southeastern Nigerian Enugu State. The article draws on quantitative and qualitative data and stewardship theory. The study reveals that the roads constructed between 1999 and 2007 were better in quality and evenly distributed as against those constructed between 2007 and 2015 which was lopsided, though with more roads. Corruption among others impeded road construction and the study suggested among others addressing the major causes of corruption.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139836880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-14DOI: 10.1177/00219096241228777
A. Mohammed, F. Tuokuu, Alex Bokuma
Development agencies often promote decentralization as a solution for poverty reduction and a means of addressing the unique needs of local populations in developing countries. This manuscript examines the District Assembly system’s effectiveness in delivering services within the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study employs a mixed-methods approach to illuminate two contrasting perspectives on the local assembly’s service provision. On one hand, citizens generally express satisfaction with the delivery of services related to health infrastructure, education, electricity, and water supply. On the other hand, a significant portion of the population is dissatisfied with the local assembly’s performance in governance, sanitation, gender-related issues, and addressing vulnerability. Notably, the study also uncovers that despite the intended objective of decentralization to empower local citizens, a degree of central government control and influence undermines its effectiveness. This study presents practical and theoretical implications and identifies avenues for future research in this field.
{"title":"Decentralization and Local Government Performance: Empirical Evidence From Ghana","authors":"A. Mohammed, F. Tuokuu, Alex Bokuma","doi":"10.1177/00219096241228777","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241228777","url":null,"abstract":"Development agencies often promote decentralization as a solution for poverty reduction and a means of addressing the unique needs of local populations in developing countries. This manuscript examines the District Assembly system’s effectiveness in delivering services within the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study employs a mixed-methods approach to illuminate two contrasting perspectives on the local assembly’s service provision. On one hand, citizens generally express satisfaction with the delivery of services related to health infrastructure, education, electricity, and water supply. On the other hand, a significant portion of the population is dissatisfied with the local assembly’s performance in governance, sanitation, gender-related issues, and addressing vulnerability. Notably, the study also uncovers that despite the intended objective of decentralization to empower local citizens, a degree of central government control and influence undermines its effectiveness. This study presents practical and theoretical implications and identifies avenues for future research in this field.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139778496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-14DOI: 10.1177/00219096241228777
A. Mohammed, F. Tuokuu, Alex Bokuma
Development agencies often promote decentralization as a solution for poverty reduction and a means of addressing the unique needs of local populations in developing countries. This manuscript examines the District Assembly system’s effectiveness in delivering services within the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study employs a mixed-methods approach to illuminate two contrasting perspectives on the local assembly’s service provision. On one hand, citizens generally express satisfaction with the delivery of services related to health infrastructure, education, electricity, and water supply. On the other hand, a significant portion of the population is dissatisfied with the local assembly’s performance in governance, sanitation, gender-related issues, and addressing vulnerability. Notably, the study also uncovers that despite the intended objective of decentralization to empower local citizens, a degree of central government control and influence undermines its effectiveness. This study presents practical and theoretical implications and identifies avenues for future research in this field.
{"title":"Decentralization and Local Government Performance: Empirical Evidence From Ghana","authors":"A. Mohammed, F. Tuokuu, Alex Bokuma","doi":"10.1177/00219096241228777","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096241228777","url":null,"abstract":"Development agencies often promote decentralization as a solution for poverty reduction and a means of addressing the unique needs of local populations in developing countries. This manuscript examines the District Assembly system’s effectiveness in delivering services within the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study employs a mixed-methods approach to illuminate two contrasting perspectives on the local assembly’s service provision. On one hand, citizens generally express satisfaction with the delivery of services related to health infrastructure, education, electricity, and water supply. On the other hand, a significant portion of the population is dissatisfied with the local assembly’s performance in governance, sanitation, gender-related issues, and addressing vulnerability. Notably, the study also uncovers that despite the intended objective of decentralization to empower local citizens, a degree of central government control and influence undermines its effectiveness. This study presents practical and theoretical implications and identifies avenues for future research in this field.","PeriodicalId":46881,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian and African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139838057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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