A Tale of Two Maps and Two Truths: Explaining the intractability and transformation of the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict in Ghana.

Research output: Book/ReportDoctoral thesisCollection of Articles

Abstract

This study analyses the intractability and potential transformation of the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict in Ghana from the perspective of the disputants. Despite many attempts at its resolution, the conflict, which is about land, its ownership and usage, and characterised by sporadic violence, has remained intractable for more than a century. By intractability, the reference in this dissertation is to the situation in which violent conflicts—either active or inactive—defy existing conflict management techniques and endure for a long period. This study, therefore, examines the reasons for the intractability of the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict despite the many attempts at resolving it. Furthermore, the thesis suggests alternative ways of reconceptualising this conflict.
The dissertation first reflects on the local turn in peacebuilding, which represents a critical move away from the international arena to local agencies and people as critical agents. Second, it builds on and contributes to the resultant shift towards qualitative and ethnographic turns in peace research. Therefore, founding on the existing critique, which claims that the local turn is not able to connect with the actual parties in the conflict, the study uses phenomenology as its method. The choice of phenomenology is well suited for the study not only because it acknowledges the local-local context and its emphasis on the individual’s lived experiences, but also because of its ability to help in the generation of nuanced information on latent conflicts as compared to many other qualitative approaches.
The data for the dissertation were generated during two main field visits to Nkonya and Alavanyo in 2014 and 2016, when phenomenological interviews were conducted among 24 participants representing both the Nkonya and Alavanyo communities. The data were generated in strict adherence to established academic ethical guidelines. Additionally, relevant archival materials, primarily legal and secondary sources, were also consulted.
The results of the research can be found in four articles. The first two articles demonstrate that from the perspective of the Nkonyas and Alavanyos, the conflict remains intractable due to mutually conditioned accusations from both parties, inspired by their own versions of truth based on two maps and two tales. Further reflecting on the litigation journey of the disputing parties, the third article argues that judicial attempts at resolving the conflict have been ineffective because the resultant judgments have been subject to multiple interpretations, which in turn produce divergent viewpoints. Together, these three articles show that the failure of earlier attempts at resolving the conflict—from the use of maps, traditional approaches and litigation to alternative dispute resolution (ADR)—has become a part of the problem rather than the solution, contributing to the conflict instead of transforming it.
Consequently, thinking with Lewis Coser on the functions of social conflict and engaging with John Paul Lederach’s theorisation of conflict transformation, the final article proposes, first, a rethinking of conflict resolution strategies by moving towards a constructive transformation of the conflict in ways that both privilege feelings of justice and reduce violence. Second, given the inability of the local turn in peacebuilding to connect locally to the needs of the very parties to conflicts, the study further suggests an emancipation from the local turn to the local-local turn, which can ensure a sense of local ownership, provide some legitimacy to the process, and increase the chances of the acceptability and durability of the results.
Ultimately, by providing a new theoretical and methodological understanding of the Nkonya-Alavanyo conflict and practical approaches for its transformation, this study provides a novel reference point for future peace and conflict studies dealing with intractable communal conflicts.


Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationTampere
PublisherTampere University
Number of pages152
ISBN (Electronic)978-952-03-3509-0
ISBN (Print)978-952-03-3508-3
Publication statusPublished - 27 Aug 2024
Publication typeG5 Doctoral dissertation (articles)

Publication series

NameTAPRI Studies in Peace and Conflict Research
No.111
ISSN (Print)1798-1409

Keywords

  • communal conflicts
  • intractable communal conflicts
  • local-local turn
  • conflict transformation
  • Nkonya-Alavanyo Conflict
  • Ghana
  • West Africa
  • Africa

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