Political Legacy of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana

“The book fills a major gap in our understanding of the tumultuous and at times dramatic changes which occurred in African nations right after their political independence. Lucidly written, persuasively argued, and sensibly conceived, Boateng’s book will not only serve as a general introduction to Nkrumah’s Ghana, but its informative discussions and penetrating analysis and comprehensive treatment of the precolonial and postcolonial and economic conditions will be equally valuable to the specialist and the general reader alike.” – Dr. David A. Fiifi Sam, President, North Harris College, Texas

“… contributes to the fields of political science, sociology, development, economics and international relations by bringing together materials from these numerous areas to furnish an understanding of the role and impact of one of Africa’s and indeed the entire Third World’s leading political figures…. The major strength of this manuscript is that it is almost biographical and yet suitable for use as an academic text…. Successful in presenting the materials using relevant data to present an objective and comprehensive description and assessment of Nkrumah’s roles in Ghana, Africa, the Third World and indeed in the global arena.” – Dr. Kwamina Panford, Professor and Chair of the Department of African-American Studies, Northeastern University

Table of contents (main headings):
Preface
1. Introduction: Significance of Nkrumah: Theories of Dependency and Modernization; Nkrumah’s Charismatic Personality
2. Frameworks for Understanding Nkrumah: Comparative Intellectual Tradition; Nkrumah’s Notions of the Global Context/Theory of Development, National Responses, Socialism; Pan-Africanism
3. Ghana and Nkrumah: Political, Social, Economic Conditions; Life and Career of Nkrumah
4. Implementation: Domestic, Agricultural, Social, and Foreign Policies; Evaluation of Nkrumah’s Regime
5. The Volta River Project
6. The Problems Leading to Nkrumah’s Decline: Internal – Civil Rights and Liberties Violations, Wasting of resources, Corruption, Economic problems, Conflicts with chiefs; External – Communist ties, Reliance on foreign aid, Pan-Africanism
Conclusion: Nkrumah as political theorist, policy-maker; Appraisal of Regime
Bibliography; Index