Ghana's First Republic 1960-1966

The Pursuit of the Political Kingdom

Trevor Jones

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English

Routledge
01 October 2025

African history; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000; Comparative politics

Series: Studies in African History

Originally published in 1976, this book describes one of the most important and colourful episodes in black Africa’s twentieth-century history. Kwame Nkrumah, the dynamic leader who brought Ghana to independence in 1957, abandoned the Westminster model of representative government to which his country once seemed so well suited. He reached out towards the goals of Pan-Africanism and socialism, emphasizing the primacy of political action to regenerate his people and their continent. But his vision of the ‘political kingdom’ led quickly to the destruction of his Republic and his hopes. Using the (then) latest evidence to examine political life, parliament, civil service, farmers, workers and army in Ghana’s first Republic, the author argues that Nkrumah’s experiment failed because his rule was strong enough to distort traditional values but was unable to transform them. The result was a bizarre and paralysing mixture of despotism and anarchy which defied political analysis in conventional terms.

By: Trevor Jones
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
Weight: 690g
ISBN: 9781032622576
ISBN 10: 1032622571
Series: Studies in African History
Pages: 370
Publication Date: 01 October 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. The Redeemer 2. The Republic 3. ‘The Party is Supreme’ 4. The Divided House 5. The Political Deformation of Development 6. The Fruits of Office 7. Workers and Farmers 8. The End of the Political Kingdom 9. Nkrumah in Retrospect 1966-1974.

Trevor Jones was Lecturer in History at the University of Keele.

Reviews for Ghana's First Republic 1960-1966: The Pursuit of the Political Kingdom

Review of original edition of Ghana's First Republic: ‘In Ghana’s First Republic Trevor Jones has given us a readable history of Kwame Nkrumah’s rule in Ghana which is both a good synthesis of the large amount of literature on the subject and an original piece of research. ‘ Claire Robertson, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol 11 No. 3.