Community-Led Peace Initiatives: The Bawku Inter-Ethnic Committee Experience

Chieftaincy conflicts in northern Ghana, exemplified by the longstanding dispute between the Kusasi and Mamprusi ethnic groups in Bawku, have persisted despite decades of government interventions. These conflicts highlight the limitations of top-down approaches, which have often failed to address the underlying social, cultural, and local dynamics driving the disputes. This study examines the role of the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC) as a locally-led initiative that has achieved relative success in managing and mitigating the conflict. By focusing on local agency, community participation, and culturally-informed negotiation strategies, the BIEPC has fostered trust, dialogue, and cooperation among conflicting parties, offering insights into the mechanisms through which grassroots peacebuilding can be more effective than externally imposed solutions. The study underscores that sustainable conflict resolution in contexts like Bawku requires empowering local actors, leveraging indigenous knowledge systems, and facilitating inclusive processes that reflect community needs and values. The findings contribute to broader debates on peacebuilding in multi-ethnic societies, demonstrating that locally-driven approaches can complement or even outperform top-down interventions, particularly in protracted conflicts where government-led strategies have repeatedly failed. The article highlights the importance of combining formal governance structures with grassroots initiatives to achieve durable peace.