Journal of Agrarian Change, Vol. 8 No. 1, January 2008, pp. 64–93. © 2008 The Author. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Henry Bernstein and Terence J. Byres. Blackwell Publishing Ltd Oxford, UK JOAC Journal of Agrarian Change 1471-0358 © The Author. Journal compilation © Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Henry Bernstein and Terence J. Byres. XXX Original Articles Rural ‘Community’, Chiefs and Social Capital Jeff D. Grischow Rural ‘Community’, Chiefs and Social Capital: The Case of Southern Ghana JEFF D. GRISCHOW Social capital emphasizes community and social cohesion as the foundation of development. In Africa, this has prompted the promotion of traditional authorities as agents of development because chiefs and elders are assumed to embody communal norms. Critics have argued that this vision is ahistorical. In response, social capitalists have attempted to ‘historicize’ their analyses. But in many cases, ‘history’ simply refers to the micro-level production of trust, networks and norms. From a historian’s perspective this is problematic because it ignores historical processes that often produce social hierarchies and inequality within ‘traditional’ communities. Using a case study from southern Ghana, I argue that, because of their particular view of history, many social capitalists remain blind to differentiation and conflict at the community level. As a result, social capital-driven projects run the risk of reproducing deeply rooted inequalities. Keywords: social capital, Africa, Ghana, Akyem Abuakwa, chiefs, traditional authority, land tenure, history INTRODUCTION The new millennium has witnessed a turn towards traditional authorities as agents of African development. This trend sits comfortably with the fashionable development paradigm of social capital, which emphasizes social cohesion and collective action as essential to economic growth. In Africa, collective action is often connected to the traditional cultural fabric binding individuals together in community. Development, it is argued, must grow out of authentic local cultures. If this is achieved, African communities can develop without destroying their group cohesion and development will unfold organically along community lines. Traditional authorities are central to this process as the most culturally appropriate guardians of community. And they are ready to be mobilized, because, according to some authors, their traditional, pre-colonial authority survived colonialism despite the attempt by colonial powers to hitch them to the state Jeff D. Grischow, Department of History, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue, West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3C5. e-mail: jgrischow@sympatico.ca This paper is an offshoot of a collaborative project with Glenn H. McKnight of Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, whose influence I gratefully acknowledge. I also would like to thank Henry Bernstein for reading an earlier draft very closely and offering invaluable suggestions for improvements.