The Ideology of Two Dominant Party Systems in 21st-Century African Neoliberal Democracies: A Paired Comparison of Nigeria and Ghana

Abstract

In Nigeria and Ghana, scholars and statesmen suggest that the party system has missed the mark, having bred two major political parties that look alike ideologically. The argument is that the major parties in a two-dominant party system must articulate clearly alternative visions and strategies in an ideologically driven manifesto. To show the difference, such parties must have opposing values and ideologies, one revising the neoliberal growth model. Some analysts argue that when the ruling party manifests capitalist tendencies, the opposition should tend to the left-of-the-centre or socialist to express the opposite. What are the parties doing differently? While it seems on paper that National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party (NDC/NPP) in Ghana and All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party (APC/PDP) in Nigeria have manifestoes that seem to differ, there appears to be a minimal difference in their policies when in power to match the ideological leanings. The paper argues that political parties are essential to liberal democracy, but in the current hegemony of the market economy, they do not have to be diametrically ideologically different to fulfil their roles. The major political parties can be differentiated based on their stand on issues, giving rise to issue-based parties rather than ideological ones. The electorates may also rely on the office’s effectiveness to guide candidates’ and parties’ choices. The parties ought to articulate pressing national issues and solve them.