A study of manifestations of political polarization as structural violence. A case study of Ghana’s 2020 Election

Abstract

This research will use the case of Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections in 2020 to illustrate how polarization manifests in the power struggle and is fueled by structural violence in the constitutional and institutional arrangements towards elections. Ghana is often considered a model of African democracy with a track record of peaceful elections, regular changes of power since its return to democratic rule in 1992. However, the political environment has become increasingly polarized, creating tension, violence, and distrust of the electoral process. The research aims to understand how political polarization constitutes a form of structural violence within Ghana’s internationally acclaimed peaceful democratic development, using the 2020 election as a case study. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following question: How does political polarization manifest as structural violence in Ghana’s democratic political culture? Using the case study method, the thesis analyses news articles from the vertical portal GhanaWeb.