Literature on political vigilante groups has centred on the violence and conflict that emanate from their activities. This article approaches political vigilante groups as political actors who engage in political mobilisation and participation and therewith also contribute to nation state building. It explores how such groups participate in Ghana’s democratic governance and asks whether violence is an inevitable characteristic. The article builds on individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with political vigilante group members in Kumasi and Tamale in 2019. Findings show that political vigilante “youth” appeared to refer primarily to the social position attributed to non-elite groups in the political field. Political vigilante groups are multi-faceted in their organisational structures, membership, and activities both during electoral campaigns and during governing periods. While some groups revert to violence occasionally, the study concludes that political vigilante groups, in enabling different voices to be heard, are also contributing to democratic governance.

Recently, communities in Agogo Traditional Area (ATA) have witnessed an increasing spate of violence leading to loss of lives, loss of livelihoods, insecurity and severe injury among others. This article explores the “local” in peacebuilding by addressing the following research questions: first, how do Agogo indigenes in the diaspora contribute to peacebuilding in Agogo Traditional Area? Second, in which ways do the engagement of Fulani herders and indigenous farmers influence the process of peacebuilding in Agogo Traditional Area? The article employed in-depth interviews, participant observation, key informant interviews and focus group discussions in the data collection process. From an interdisciplinary perspective, the research has introduced the activities of transnational migrants into the discourse of peacebuilding as it positions Ghanaians in the diaspora as local actors engaged in the farmer-herder conflict in ATA. This study has shown that in the case of ATA, despite the potential benefits of the local peacebuilding including the contribution of the diaspora, it is bedeviled with challenges such as mistrust and inadequate resources. The article recommends that local peacebuilding be detached from adjudication in the court of law because the local actors perceive the court as external and ambivalent to the cultural context of local conflicts.

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Les auteurs analysent la genèse des sections extérieures des partis politiques ghanéens aux Pays-Bas, et la façon dont leurs membres mènent une vie politique transnationale entre pays d’accueil et pays d’origine. L’étude confirme que l’engagement politique transnational n’entre pas en concurrence, mais complète plutôt l’intégration politique dans le pays d’accueil. En dépit de la participation politique active des immigrés ghanéens à Amsterdam, leur représentation politique reste faible à la fois dans le pays d’accueil et dans le pays d’origine.