Democratic Governance and Actors’ Conceptualization of “Civil Society” in Africa: State–Civil Society Relations in Ghana from 1982–2000

Despite civil society’s ambiguity, many scholars tend to focus on the economic reasons for the apparent conflict between state
and civil society, with little or no attention to the conceptual differences that may be influencing the behavior of public
and civil society actors. Using Ghana under J. J. Rawlings as a backdrop, this article argues that state–civil society relations
are partly shaped by the divergent conceptualizations of “civil society” held by state and civil society actors. It suggests
that the issue is not just the African state’s limited understanding of the multiple roles that civil society organizations
can legitimately play in the polity; it is also civil society’s lack of recognition and acknowledgment of the legitimate functions
of the African state.