Prof Abeeku Essuman-Johnson

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PROFILE

Abeeku Essuman-Johnson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon. He holds a PhD from the University of Ghana for which he wrote a thesis on “The Politics of the African Refugee problem: The Case of Refugees in Ghana” For that thesis he examined the larger issue of the African refugee problem by looking at people who have sought refuge in Ghana. Ghana’s attitude towards refugees was influenced by the lead role played by Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah in the African liberation struggle from her independence in 1957. Nkrumah linked Ghana’s independence to the total liberation of the African continent. For that reason, Ghana attracted African liberation fighters from various countries under colonial rule who were assisted by the Nkrumah government to go back and fight to liberate their countries from colonial rule. Nkrumah began an open-door policy towards refugees and the policy has since been largely followed by succeeding Ghanaian governments. In looking at refugees in Ghana, the thesis examined the presence of refugees from Southern Africa, namely Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa who were mainly students in Ghanaian tertiary institutions. They were seeking refuge from Apartheid and minority regimes from Southern Africa from the early 1960s.  The largest refugee group was the Liberians who were seeking refuge from the civil war that engulfed their country from the early 1990s. The thesis examined the cause of their flight, emergency assistance to them and durable solutions to their refugee status.

EDUCATION
PhD - University of Ghana, Legon
MA - University of Ghana, Legon
Bachelor of Arts - University of Ghana, Legon

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

• Conflict and Refugees in Africa.
• Political & Social Research Methodology

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Organized labor and democratic governance in Africa.
• Democratization and governance in Africa.

Ongoing research

Currently preparing papers on

• Ivorian Refugees in Ghana.
• Survival Strategies of Refugees in Ghana.
• Conflict, Refugees and Conflict Resolution in West Africa: The case of Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Liberian refugees in Ghana.

COURSES TAUGHT

Undergraduate courses

• POLI 343: Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Political Research
• POLI 344: Methods of Political Research
• POLI 443: Statistics for Political Research
• POLI 431: Refugees and International Relations

postgraduate courses

• POLI 602: Survey Methods in the Social Sciences
• POLI 617: Methodology of the Social Science
• POLI 702: Research Design & Methodology
• POLI 703:  Advanced Quantitative Methods

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1991) “The Politics of Ghana’s Search for a Democratic Constitutional Order: 1957 - 1991” K.A. Ninsin & F.K. Drah (eds.) Ghana’s Transition to Constitutional Rule Ghana Universities Press, Accra.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1992)“The Liberian Refugee Problem and Ghana’s Response to it” LECIA Bulletin Vol. 2 No. 1.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1992) “Influencing a Country’s Political and Economic Decision Making with Food: The Case of Ghana” Occasional Paper No. 58 Africa Institute of South Africa.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. & Gyimah-Boadi, E. (1993). “The PNDC and Organized Labour: The Anatomy of Political Control” E. Gyimah-Boadi (ed.) Ghana Under PNDC Rule CODESRIA Book Series, Dakar.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1993) “The Democratic Ethos and Internal Party Democracy: The Case of parties in the Fourth Republic” K.A. Ninsin & F.K. Drah (eds.) Political Parties and Democracy in Ghana’s Fourth Republic Woeli Publishing Services, Accra.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1994) “Environmental Refugees in Ghana: The Politics of Assistance to Sahel Refugees” Legon Journal of Humanities Vol. 1
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1995) “The Refugee problem in West Africa” H. Adelman (ed.) Legitimate and Illegitimate Discrimination: New Issues in Migration York Lanes Press, Toronto.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1995) “African Conflicts, Refugees and Conflict Resolution: The Politics of the Liberian Conflict and its Resolution” Mike Ocquaye (ed.) Democracy and Conflict Resolution in Ghana Gold Type Publications Ltd. Accra.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. , Karikari, K. Ansu-Kyeremeh, K. & Bonnah Koomson, A.K. (1995). Democratic Governance in Ghana Under the 1992 Constitution, Report of a National Survey, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Occasional Papers No. 4
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1996) “Liberian and Sahel Refugees in Ghana: The Politics of Providing Assistance to Refugees” Paul Nugent & A.I. Asiwaju (eds.) African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities Pinter, London.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (1996) “Refugees and Migrants in West Africa” FASS Bulletin Vol. 1 No. 1
• Essuman-Johnson, A., K. Karikari, K., Ansu-Kyeremeh, K. & A.K. Bonnah Koomson, (2000).  The State of Governance in Ghana in 1999, Report of a National Survey of democratic governance in Ghana under the 1992 constitution, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
• Essuman-Johnson, A. & Smith-Jackson, T.L.  (2002).  “Cultural Ergonomics in Ghana, West Africa: A Descriptive Survey of Industry and Trade Workers’ Interpretations of Safety Symbols”, in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE) 2002, Vol. 8 No. 1, 37-50.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. & Ansu-Kyeremeh, K. (2002)  “Public Perception of the Ghana Police Service: Report of a National Survey” in The Face and Phases of the Ghana Police, Media Foundation for West Africa.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (2003) “Ghana’s Policy Towards Refugees since Independence” Ghana Social Science Journal Vol. 2 No. 1 May.
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (2005) “Going Back Home: The Politics of the Repatriation of Liberian and Togolese Refugees in Ghana” Legon Journal of International Affairs (LEJIA) Vol. 1 No.2
• Essuman-Johnson, A. (2005) The Crisis of the State in West Africa: The Crisis of Production, Democracy and National Identity. Codesria Book Series