20
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Conciliatory States : Elite Ethno-Demographics and the Puzzle of Public Goods Within Diverse African States

      1
      Comparative Political Studies
      SAGE Publications

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisher
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Existing theory associates ethnolinguistic diversity with a host of negative outcomes. This article analyzes the puzzle of Ghana, the 12th most diverse state globally, yet among the most peaceful, democratic, and developed African states. It argues the position of post-independence political elites within ethno-demographic structures helps explain why some diverse African states pursued broad nation-building public goods, mitigating the political salience of diversity. Diversity encouraged provision of social goods with broad-based support in states with a modest plurality—not large enough to dominate, but without proximately sized ethnic groups—especially for leaders from a minority. Comparative historical analysis of Ghana is expanded with abbreviated case studies on Guinea, Togo, and Kenya.

          Related collections

          Most cited references82

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Corruption and Growth

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: not found
              • Article: not found

              Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies

                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Comparative Political Studies
                Comparative Political Studies
                SAGE Publications
                0010-4140
                1552-3829
                September 2016
                July 09 2016
                September 2016
                : 49
                : 11
                : 1513-1549
                Affiliations
                [1 ]University of Notre Dame, IN, USA
                Article
                10.1177/0010414015626441
                dc541121-a008-4eeb-97db-b06a350487dc
                © 2016

                http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license

                History

                Comments

                Comment on this article