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"Youth Politics in Africa" published on by Oxford University Press.

The proposal for regional re-organisation and the creation of four additional ones seem feasible and has the needed popular support. Using archival sources and data from the IEA-VOTO Survey, the paper undertakes a thorough and detailed analysis of the processes leading to the creation of additional regions, and reveals imponderable challenges likely to be encountered. It argues that popular support for governmental policy proposals is not necessarily coterminous with feasibility, effectiveness and relevance. The paper therefore examines the feasibility and relevance of the proposal for the creation of additional regions in Ghana and proffers policy recommendations to re-focus the attention of policy makers on the critical challenges and barriers to rural development and how they could be effectively tackled.Keywords: New Regions, Ghana; Campaign Promise, Cost, Development

Following Ghana's December 2012 elections, there was a protracted election petition process at the nation's Supreme Court challenging the declaration of the winner as the duly elected presidential candidate. Even though the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the declared winner, it made several recommendations that paved the way for numerous interventions aimed at putting together proposals for electoral reform to fine-tune Ghana's electoral processes. Several such reform proposals were submitted to the Electoral Commission by the end of 2013. Nevertheless, these were not implemented to guide the 2016 general elections. The successful conduct of the 2016 elections has therefore been described as a "miracle." Why were the reform proposals not implemented? What is the current state of reform proposals submitted to the Electoral Commission? What is the way forward? This article addresses these questions.

Student activism has been pivotal in Ghana's political and democratic history. Prior to Ghana's Fourth Republic, student activism was highly confrontational and entailed student support or opposition to the various regimes depending on the extent to which the regimes were accepted by all as being rightful or legitimate. After 23 years of uninterrupted constitutional democracy, Ghana has earned the accolade of being a successful electoral democracy. However, in terms of democratic progression, the mere conduct of periodic elections that sometimes lead to alternation of power is described as elementary and a low quality democracy. Given that Ghana's democratisation process since 1992 has not been static, some remarkable strides have been made in improving the nation's democratic quality. Using a purely qualitative research design and interviews with some former student activists, this study argues that the modest strides made in the quest for high quality liberal democracy in Ghana cannot be meaningfully discussed without acknowledging the invaluable contributions of student activism. The study further suggests a relationship between democratic quality and student activism. It postulates that the shift from the usually oppositional and sometimes violent student activism in Ghana's Fourth Republic could partially be attributed to the country's strides made in the drive towards democratic maturity. For students to continue their role as vanguards of democracy in Ghana, the study recommends an amalgamation of all tertiary networks and other student splinter groups under the National Union of Ghana Students; and a shift in the modus operandi of the Union from confrontation to the use of dialogue and other peaceful democratic means to achieve its objectives. This could contribute to the restoration of the Union's former glory as a united, national and independent mouth-piece of students in all national issues.Keywords: students, activism, protests, demonstration, democratic quality

Der Autor untersucht die Verwaltung der Erdöleinnahmen in Ghana während der ersten fünf Jahre seit Beginn der Förderung im Jahr 2010. Seine Analyse beruht auf Berichten des Petroleum Transparency and Accountability Index, amtlichen Dokumenten wichtiger staatlicher Stellen und Interviews mit Persönlichkeiten des Ölsektors. Er konzediert zwar Fortschritte in Richtung auf eine transparente und verantwortliche Nutzung der Erdöleinnahmen, aus seiner Sicht könnte allerdings deutlich mehr erreicht werden, wenn entscheidende Gesetzesvorhaben umgesetzt würden und Staat und Politiker proaktiv und ohne Verzögerung im Erdölsektor intervenieren würden. Das könne zur Vermeidung gesellschaftlicher Konflikte beitragen, die aufgrund mangelnder Information über die Verwendung der Erdöleinnahmen entstehen könnten, sowie zur Verhütung korrupter Praktiken durch Politiker und Verantwortliche im Erdölsektor.

Political parties are the vehicles through which the ideals of multiparty democracy could be achieved in any fledgling democracy. But in Ghana, they are the most neglected of all the political institutions. Consequently they exist merely as "election machines" and become moribund during inter-election periods. The proposal for state funding of political parties was seen as a means of reinvigorating them to be able to function effectively and produce quality leaders capable of tackling the developmental challenges of the country. This paper therefore reviews the Draft Public Funding of Political Parties Bill, 2008. Through a survey of some 210 respondents and government officials, it argues that the quest for public funding of political parties was outmoded at conception because governments are not committed to the proposal, nor do Ghanaians seem to support it. The study concludes on the note that until politicians strive to reduce the perception of corruption against them and encourage their members to support them financially through the payment of monthly dues and special levies, political parties will continue to function as weak election machines in Ghana.

Civil Society and many youth activists were elated when the youth, those aged between 21 and 40 years, were given prominence in Ghana's parliament after the 2012 elections. Indeed, as many as 44 young people were elected during Ghana's 2012 Parliamentary Elections. Prior to this, the number of young people in Ghana's parliament was negligible. In view of the demographic advantage of the youth and their invaluable contributions to Ghana's political history, there have been incessant calls for their representation and an eventual return to the days of the 1950s when politics was dominated by the youth. The outcome of the 2012 Parliamentary Elections was therefore hailed as unprecedented and described by many as a giant step towards youth representation in national decision making. However, a survey of all the young parliamentarians and some 4400 young people carefully selected through purposive sampling provides the basis for this paper's thesis that the growth in the number of young people in Ghana's parliament does not necessarily guarantee youth representation in national decision making; rather, it promotes tokenism, exclusivity and co-optation of the youth into decision-making structures of state. The study makes practical recommendations to create a relationship between youth in Ghana's parliament and youth representation.

Student activism has been pivotal in Ghana's political and democratic history. Prior toGhana's Fourth Republic, student activism was highly confrontational and entailed studentsupport or opposition to the various regimes depending on the extent to which theregimes were accepted by all as being rightful or legitimate. After 23 years of uninterruptedconstitutional democracy, Ghana has earned the accolade of being a successful electoraldemocracy. However, in terms of democratic progression, the mere conduct of periodicelections that sometimes lead to alternation of power is described as elementary and alow quality democracy. Given that Ghana's democratisation process since 1992 has notbeen static, some remarkable strides have been made in improving the nation's democraticquality. Using a purely qualitative research design and interviews with some former studentactivists, this study argues that the modest strides made in the quest for high qualityliberal democracy in Ghana cannot be meaningfully discussed without acknowledgingthe invaluable contributions of student activism. The study further suggests a relationshipbetween democratic quality and student activism. It postulates that the shift from theusually oppositional and sometimes violent student activism in Ghana's Fourth Republiccould partially be attributed to the country's strides made in the drive towards democraticmaturity. For students to continue their role as vanguards of democracy in Ghana, the studyrecommends an amalgamation of all tertiary networks and other student splinter groupsunder the National Union of Ghana Students; and a shift in the modus operandi of theUnion from confrontation to the use of dialogue and other peaceful democratic means toachieve its objectives. This could contribute to the restoration of the Union's former gloryas a united, national and independent mouth-piece of students in all national issues.