Neoliberal Globalisation and Resistance from Below: Why the Subalterns Resist in Bolivia and not in Ghana PDF
Preview Neoliberal Globalisation and Resistance from Below: Why the Subalterns Resist in Bolivia and not in Ghana
Neoliberal Globalisation and Resistance from Below As bearers of their own emancipation, the political agency of the subaltern classes is a vexed question, a time-h onoured one at that. Why do the subalterns endure injustices without revolting most of the time, but revolt sometimes against some injustices? The euphoria of ‘globalisation-f rom-below’, this book argues, skirts responsibility of addressing this question by presuming a ground- swell of resistance across the world against neoliberal globalisation. In contrast to this oeuvre, Neoliberal Globalisation and Resistance from Below engages this question squarely by using the socio- historical approach to explain why the sub- alterns resist neoliberal globalisation in Bolivia and not in Ghana. The author urges scholars of critical political economy to pay greater attention to why the subalterns resist, rather than how they resist, or what the ideal end of their resist- ance should be. Such refocusing of the research and political lens will yield a more realistic picture of what is politically possible in the social context of peripheral capitalism regarding an anti-c apitalist revolution. The author further argues that this refocusing will cure many of the romantic anti-c apitalist claims and banal wishful thinking of a socialist revolution in peripheral capitalist regions such as Latin American, The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Sub- Saharan Africa. Neoliberal Globalisation and Resistance from Below will be of interest to stu- dents and scholars of African politics, neoliberalism, globalisation, political economy and subaltern politics. Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Commu- nication, Innovation and Technology, University for Development Studies, Ghana. 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Poku 11 Neoliberal Globalisation and Resistance from Below Why the Subalterns Resist in Bolivia and not in Ghana Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno Neoliberal Globalisation and Resistance from Below Why the Subalterns Resist in Bolivia and not in Ghana Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno The right of Jasper Abembia Ayelazuno to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-i n-Publication Data Names: Ayelazuno, Jasper, author. Title: Neoliberal globalisation and resistance from below : why the subalterns resist in Bolivia and not in Ghana / Jasper Ayelazuno. Other titles: Contemporary African politics series ; 11. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Contemporary African politics series ; 11 Identifiers: LCCN 2018021558| ISBN 9781472441805 (hardback) | ISBN 9781315597768 (ebook) | ISBN 9781317089032 (mobipocket) Subjects: LCSH: Neoliberalism. | Ghana–Politics and government. | Bolivia–Politics and government. | Ghana–Economic conditions. | Bolivia–Economic conditions. | Government, Resistance to–Ghana. | Government, Resistance to–Bolivia. Classification: LCC DT512 .A97 2019 | DDC 966.705–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018021558 ISBN: 978-1-4724-4180-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-59776-8 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear This book is respectfully dedicated to my father and mother, Ayelazuno Abem and Ayampoka Abem, who resisted the strong temptation of the peasantry to use their children as farmhands and rather sent me to school. Thanks to this critical decision, I am the first in our family to step foot in a classroom. Glory be to God, they are still alive to see and enjoy the fruits of their wise decision. Contents Acknowledgements viii Foreword x DAvID B. MOORE Introduction: uneven resistance in the context of uneven capitalist development 1 1 Subalterns, injustice, and resistance 26 2 The social-h istorical approach to agency: ‘pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will’ 57 3 Why the subalterns resist: the cosmo-m aterialism of the global anti-n eoliberalism resistance movement 75 4 The rebellious subalterns in Bolivia: socio-h istorical dynamics of the Bolivian model of anti-n eoliberalism 101 5 Subaltern agency and resistance in the social-h istorical context of the Gold Coast 135 6 Neoliberalism and resistance in Ghana 164 7 Electoral democracy and subaltern resistance in Ghana 201 8 Conclusion: intellectual and political implications 227 Index 246 Acknowledgements This book is a drastically revised version of my PhD dissertation, submitted to York University, Canada, in May 2011 in partial fulfilment of the conditions for the award of a PhD in Political Science. Thanks are due to all those who sup- ported me morally, emotionally, intellectually, and financially during the five- year, agonising, and arduous period of the PhD programme. First of all, I am very grateful to the Almighty God for giving me good health, the courage and tenacity needed to pursue a PhD programme to a successful end. As a husband and father, the successful completion of my programme depended, first and fore- most, on the succour and love of my wife, Yvonne Ayelazuno, and my children, Kanperige- wine, Winnebota, Apasapangne, and Awineloya. Yvonne did various menial jobs in Toronto, at times working two or even three of them in a day, to pay the bills whilst I focused on the dissertation. I thank her for being such a rock during this trying period. I give special appreciations to my children for their understanding and for giving me the peace of mind to research and write the dissertation. My appreciations also go to my supervisor, Professor Ananya Mukherjee- Reed, for providing critical, useful, and timely intellectual advice from the pro- posal phase of the dissertation to the various drafts, and then to the final draft from which this book was extracted. Beyond the normal intellectual mentoring, she was empathetic during the many crises I faced on the way as an international student in Canada with huge family responsibilities. Professors David McNally and Obiora Okafor, both members of my PhD committee, also provided important intellectual guidance. I have learnt a lot from them and wish to express my sincere appreciation to them for making me a better scholar. I have also benefitted from the sage academic advice of Professor Stephen Hellman, who was not in my committee but made time to read and give useful comments on the methodology chapter of my dissertation; which unfortunately could not make it to the pages of this book. I am also indebted to the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for providing me with much-n eeded funds for my fieldwork in Ghana. My thanks also go to the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) for agreeing to be my institution of affiliation, one of the requirements of the IDRC Doctoral Research Award. Dr Lawrence Kannae, then the Deputy Acknowledgements ix Rector of GIMPA, was my fieldwork supervisor. He provided useful intellectual advice and generous logistical support for my fieldwork. I am very grateful to him for all that. Many people helped me with language and research assistance during my fieldwork in Ghana in 2008; including, Dr Abubakari Abdulai, Dr Jesse Ovadia, and Dr Maxwell Aziyaaba; Ms Kristin Dypedokk and Ms Joana Manu; Mr Solomon Atinbire, ASP Solomon Ali, Mr Baba Ayelazuno, Mr Cletus Aeoh, Lawyer Courage Asabangna, Mr Kwaw Madjitey, Mr Ankrah Reindorf Twumasi, Mr vincent Lugje, and Mr Lawrence Tia. I am grateful to all of them, and those I have forgotten to mention, for their invaluable services. My deepest appreciation and highest recognition go to the people that this book is about, the subalterns of Bolivia and Ghana, as well as those living both in both the core and peripheral regions of the capitalist global economy. However, special thanks go to the subalterns in various remote corners of Ghana who took time off their toiling and moiling to participate in this research. They include the kaya yei women in downtown Accra, the male and female hawkers along the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) road in Accra; the poor peasants (males and females) in Tuobodom, Adujoah, and Kokuma in the Brong-A hafo region; in Savelugu and Guabulga in the Northern region; in Bongo, Baare, and Tenzug in the Upper East region; and the dispossessed peasants in the mining communities of Dumasi, Teberebe, and Prestea in the Western Region. Their political views form the core of the last chapter of this book and I am very grate- ful for their participation and the many important lessons they taught me about their politics and Ghanaian politics in general, and for the light they shed on what makes them to behave the way they do politically. Mr Stanley Awinibono Apinya painstakingly read the whole manuscript of this book when it was being prepared for final submission to the publisher. He made sure all the citations and references were properly done and consistent throughout the book. Thanks Stanley, for being there for me when I needed your help. God richly bless you for your kindness. Last, but certainly not the least, are the many scholars I have met and dis- cussed the ideas and arguments of this book after the completion of my PhD. Their critical but useful comments, as well as their prodding to get it out, made me finally revisit my dissertation to crank out, no pun intended, this book. They include, in no specific order, Prof Gavin Hilson, University of Surrey; Prof David Moore, University of Johannesburg, South Africa; Professor Amin Alhas- san, University for Development Studies and the Dean of the Faculty of Agri- business and Communication Sciences (FACS), where I am presently pursuing my academic career; Dr Lord Mawuko- Yevugah, Department of Public Manage- ment & International Relations School of Public Service & Governance, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Paul Ugor, The Department of English at Illinois State University, USA; and Dr Michael Ayamga, University for Development Studies. All flaws of the book are wholly mine.
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