“Power is an egg”: Chieftaincy as a ‘Necessary’ Institution in Modern Ghana. A reassessment

Abstract

Chieftaincy constitutes an enduring, fundamental aspect of present-day Ghana’s political culture. The role of Chiefs (‘Traditional Authorities’) is enshrined into the material Constitution of the country and explicitly guaranteed by its formal Constitution. There is therefore a clear and constant need to assess the real extent and significance of the language of chieftaincy in power-broking, beyond merely formal institutional links.

Speaker

Pierluigi Valsecchi - University of Pavia

Bio

Pierluigi Valsecchi is Professor of African History in the Department of Political and Social Studies, University of Pavia, in Italy. He has worked on Ghanaian history (17th-20th century). He is the author of several articles and books, including Power and State Formation in West Africa. Appolonia from the 16th to the 18th Century (2011), Africa: la storia ritrovata, (2016, co-authored with G.P. Calchi Novati), and is co-editor (with Fabio Viti) of Mondes Akan/Akan Worlds. Identity and Power in West Africa (1999). His current research deals with the 19th-20th century history of the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire border regions.