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Political Communication in Ghana: Exploring Evolving Trends and Their Implications for National Development

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Perspectives on Political Communication in Africa

Abstract

Since 1992 the mass media in Ghana has contributed towards electoral democracy. It has served as a conduit for political debates and for political education of the citizenry. This chapter explores evolving trends in issue-based politics and their implications for national development within a complex socio-political context, including poverty, illiteracy, intemperate political language and ‘winner–takes-all’ politicking, in which the contributions of stakeholders are required to overcome obstacles. The chapter discusses the importance of nurturing conducive political culture. It views political tolerance as fundamental in communication processes within a democratic dispensation. The argument is that in a polarised political climate building synergies among stakeholders is paramount, because this can engender democratic participant communication processes to promote public interest and national unity.

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Correspondence to Africanus Lewil Diedong .

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Diedong, A.L. (2018). Political Communication in Ghana: Exploring Evolving Trends and Their Implications for National Development. In: Mutsvairo, B., Karam, B. (eds) Perspectives on Political Communication in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62057-2_16

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