Public Opinion and the Policy Making Process in Ghana’s Fourth Republic

Public opinion plays a critical role in policy making both ideationally and normatively. The place of public opinion in shaping policymaking is increasingly becoming a significant feature in Ghana’s democratic dispensation and the policymaking process. However, this rarely features in the literature on public policymaking in Ghana. This chapter seeks to critically analyze how public opinion influences the behaviour of policymakers in deciding whether or not to pursue a particular policy alternative. Drawing on public discussions on radio, television, print, social and secondary literature, this chapter contextualizes the effects of public opinion on the policy process in Ghana. The chapter examines the extent to which public opinion shapes the behaviour of policy actors in the Ghanaian context in their quest to use policy processes to engender policy change and promote good governance.