Dr Jeffrey Haynes, Professor Emeritus of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK
Dr Jeffrey Haynes, Professor Emeritus of Politics, London Metropolitan University, UK, has recently published two books on the political history and politics of Ghana. They are Ghana: 50 Years of Political Change (Digibooks Ghana, 2025) (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9988944977) and Christian Nationalism and Democracy in Ghana (Routledge, 2025) https://www.routledge.com/Christian-Nationalism-and-Democracy-in-Ghana/Haynes/p/book/9781032759005?srsltid=AfmBOooG0MZ4kqD7cZ6IDkVPkh28_TQQBNqeLYe9i5Zpf5JAkAUSckMC Christian Nationalism and Democracy in Ghana is available at a special low price for readers in Ghana, exclusively available now at Vidya Bookstore, 18th Lane, Osu, Accra; https://www.vidyabookstore.com/ Prof. Haynes will be in Accra in late September to talk about the books.
Prof. Haynes’ four decades of research into Ghana’s politics and political economy began in the mid-1980s. Ghana: 50 Years of Political Change is the result of his four decades of research. The book’s 12 chapters are arranged in two sections. Following the introductory chapter, the first section, comprising chapters 2-7, focuses on a 20-year period of significant political change: the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. These years were dominated politically by the late Jerry John Rawlings, and this section of the book examines policies and programmes implemented during his time of political prominence: from revolution to democracy.
From Rawlings’ rule to the 4th Republic
Section 2, comprising chapters 8-11, surveys democratisation and democracy during the Fourth Republic, and identifies current problems and prospects for Ghana’s democracy. Democracy was a highly controversial issue when Prof. Haynes began researching into politics in Ghana during the revolutionary phase of Flt.-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings’ Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government in the mid-1980s. The PNDC, which came to power following a coup d’état on 31 December 1981, was a military-based self-proclaimed revolutionary government. Jerry John Rawlings did not always take kindly to criticism from civil society, and for a long period political parties were banned and political debate truncated. Today, Ghana is in its fourth decade of liberal democracy, and it is time to strengthen and refresh the country’s political system. The book puts the current situation of Ghana’s politics and political economy into historical perspective, covering half a century of political change in West Africa’s flagship democracy.
Christian Nationalism and Democracy in Ghana investigates the impact of Christian nationalism on democracy in Ghana, arguing that proponents of a specific Christian worldview seek to remake the country according to their values and beliefs. Prof. Haynes is honoured that Prof. Kwame Karikari, who has had a distinguished career as a journalist, activist, and academic, and is currently a member of the Ghana 2025 constitutional review committee, chaired by Prof. H. Kwai Prempeh of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), agreed to write the foreword to the book.
Growing political force beyond Ghana
In addition to Ghana, Christian nationalism is a significant religious and political ideology in several African countries, including Zambia and Nigeria. In Ghana, prominent Christian nationalists, encouraged by sections of the American Christian Right, cultivate political influence with powerful political elites and by developing a high media profile to promote their views and increase their numbers of followers. The book examines specific examples of Christian nationalism’s impact on Ghana’s democracy: the national cathedral as a symbol of national unity and social cohesion, anti-Muslim pronouncements threatening inter-faith harmony, and attacks on Ghana’s LGBTQ+ community. Overall, the book argues that Christian nationalism is a specific threat to Ghana’s three decade-long liberal democracy, with the aim of undermining the constitutional equality and human rights of some Ghanaians in favour of a specific Christian worldview.
Essential resource for all
This book will be of interest to many Ghanaians, as well as researchers of religion and politics in Africa, with Ghana serving as an important case study for those interested in the regional impact of Christian nationalism.
Christian Nationalism and Democracy in Ghana has received praise from senior Ghanaian political scientists, including Professors Lloyd Amoah (Centre for Asian Studies, University of Ghana), George Bob-Milliar (Professor in African Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), and Felix Kumah-Abiwu (Director, Center for African Studies, Kent State University, USA.
About The Author
