TY - JOUR
T1 - The construction of citizenship and the public provision of electricity during the 2014 World Cup in Ghana
AU - MacLean, Lauren M.
AU - Bob-Milliar, George M.
AU - Baldwin, Elizabeth
AU - Dickey, Elisa
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Cambridge University Press 2016.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - Why did the Ghanaian state go to such extraordinary lengths to facilitate the reliable broadcast of the World Cup in 2014? During a period of frequent power outages, Ghana swapped power with regional neighbours and directed major domestic industries to reduce production in order to allow Ghanaians to watch their national soccer team compete in the World Cup. This paper investigates the politics of the public service provision of electricity in Ghana. We focus on the short-term crisis during the 2014 World Cup to reveal the citizens' and politicians' expectations about electricity as a public good. Drawing on an analysis of archival documents, Ghanaian newspapers, and interviews with government, business, and NGO officials in the energy sector, we argue that the Ghanaian state historically has created the expectation of electricity as a right of national citizenship and explore how this intersects with competitive party politics today.
AB - Why did the Ghanaian state go to such extraordinary lengths to facilitate the reliable broadcast of the World Cup in 2014? During a period of frequent power outages, Ghana swapped power with regional neighbours and directed major domestic industries to reduce production in order to allow Ghanaians to watch their national soccer team compete in the World Cup. This paper investigates the politics of the public service provision of electricity in Ghana. We focus on the short-term crisis during the 2014 World Cup to reveal the citizens' and politicians' expectations about electricity as a public good. Drawing on an analysis of archival documents, Ghanaian newspapers, and interviews with government, business, and NGO officials in the energy sector, we argue that the Ghanaian state historically has created the expectation of electricity as a right of national citizenship and explore how this intersects with competitive party politics today.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0022278X16000574
DO - 10.1017/S0022278X16000574
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84994796898
SN - 0022-278X
VL - 54
SP - 555
EP - 590
JO - Journal of Modern African Studies
JF - Journal of Modern African Studies
IS - 4
ER -