Paper short abstract:

Based on extensive fieldwork in Ghana, this paper aims to contribute to the debate on decolonizing knowledge of international relations. The main goal is to compare the effectiveness of the economic incentives in the foreign policies of China and the United States from the Ghanaian perspective.

Paper long abstract:

Global economic powers have always used specific instruments in their foreign policy, known as economic incentives, to achieve goals in Sub-Saharan Africa. These tools have been applied to award the target states for meeting certain conditions. From a decolonial perspective, such incentives are a form of exerting power over Sub-Saharan African countries and a tool for maintaining or gaining influence in the region. However, the question remains whether they are needed and expected by the governments and citizens of Sub-Saharan African states.

Based on extensive fieldwork in Ghana, this paper aims to contribute to an ongoing debate about the need for decolonizing knowledge and practice of international relations. The main goal is to compare the effectiveness of the economic incentives in the foreign policy of global economic powers, China and the United States, from a local, African perspective. The study concentrates on the case of Ghana as one of the most active actors in the African context. The authors search for answers to the following questions: How do Ghanaian authorities, intellectuals and ordinary people perceive and access these foreign economic incentives directed toward their state? What kind of incentives do China and the US use in their respective policies toward Ghana? Are these incentives expected, appreciated and beneficial or the opposite – treated as instruments of foreign suppression and unneeded assistance? Which economic incentives are valuable for the development of Ghana? Which ones are the remnants of the past era and a tool of interference in domestic issues?