The effects of chieftaincy conflicts on local development : the case of the Bawku East municipality

Abstract

Since the end of the Second World War, conflicts between states that dominated the international scene for decades are gradually being replaced by intra-state conflicts. These new wars have occurred in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. These intra-state wars take several forms; some of the common forms have included civil wars, revolutions, ethnic violence and conflicts, and gang violence. This has meant that most studies on conflicts do not deal with these new conflicts. This has made it imperative for new studies into this rather new phenomenon.

This study will be interested in looking at the effects of ethnic and communal violence in the form of chieftaincy conflicts on the socio-economic development of the affected local areas. The study will use the Bawku Chieftaincy Conflict as a case study. I have adopted the insights of the economic theories of war and predation to theorize that the factions in the Bawku Chieftaincy conflict are rational economic players who are interested in the economic, social and political rewards that accrue to the victorious faction. The research also hypothesises that the chieftaincy conflict has negatively affected the socio-economic development of the Bawku East Municipality. The research will test this proposition by analysing the data from the research area.