Changing Face of Institutions and Actors in Commons Management in Peri Urban Ghana in Neoliberal Age
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Abstract
This paper investigates how the formalisation of customary land rights transforms the
institutions and actors in commons management during land commoditisation. It also
examines the ways participatory customary land administration can be implemented
to promote the ‘commons we want1’ in peri-urban areas in Ghana. The study deployed
a New Institutional Economics (NIE) from the perspective of Social Anthropology as a
theoretical lens. A qualitative research method was also used to collect data from two
communities in peri-urban Ghana. Data was collected from key informants using key
informant interviews, and life history interviews were used to collect data from the
households. Results show that the formalisation of customary land rights creates
institutional pluralism in commons management and strengthens chiefs’ position in
land delivery. The chiefs employ state agencies and higher traditional leaders to
legitimise their claims over customary lands during land commoditisation. The chiefs’
conduct in land delivery precipitates the eviction of their subjects from their ancestral
lands. The paper recommends that to protect the livelihood of peri-urban dwellers and
sustain the ‘commons we want’; participatory customary land administration should be
encouraged in peri-urban areas in Ghana.
institutions and actors in commons management during land commoditisation. It also
examines the ways participatory customary land administration can be implemented
to promote the ‘commons we want1’ in peri-urban areas in Ghana. The study deployed
a New Institutional Economics (NIE) from the perspective of Social Anthropology as a
theoretical lens. A qualitative research method was also used to collect data from two
communities in peri-urban Ghana. Data was collected from key informants using key
informant interviews, and life history interviews were used to collect data from the
households. Results show that the formalisation of customary land rights creates
institutional pluralism in commons management and strengthens chiefs’ position in
land delivery. The chiefs employ state agencies and higher traditional leaders to
legitimise their claims over customary lands during land commoditisation. The chiefs’
conduct in land delivery precipitates the eviction of their subjects from their ancestral
lands. The paper recommends that to protect the livelihood of peri-urban dwellers and
sustain the ‘commons we want’; participatory customary land administration should be
encouraged in peri-urban areas in Ghana.
Date Issued
2023
Publication Type
Conference Item
Language(s)
en
Additional Credits
Title of Event
Access(Rights)
open.access