Something important is changing in Ghana’s politics, quietly, even as the usual noise of press conferences, accusations, and social media arguments continues. Ghanaian voters are paying closer attention, checking claims more carefully, and rewarding a different kind of political behaviour. For the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ghana’s main opposition party, this is a turning point: the old way of doing opposition politics is no longer working as well as it used to. Many Ghanaians still feel frustrated with the NPP, whether that is fair or not. At the same time, President John Dramani Mahama’s government is enjoying a period of goodwill, with high expectations, softer criticism, and more patience from the public than it has had to earn through results alone. This gives the NPP a chance to redefine its role, not by giving up on opposition, but by doing it differently. Opposition politics in Ghana, like elsewhere, has long relied on scandal: accusations that are sometimes true, sometim...
BRICS and the Shifting Global Order The BRICS grouping, coined by Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs in 2001, includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and, later, South Africa. This group represents key emerging economies, aiming to reshape global economic governance to better represent the interests of rapidly developing countries. Today, BRICS has evolved into a significant multilateral platform, accounting for over 40% of the global population and more than 30% of world GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP), along with a growing share of international trade. The group has established institutions like the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), promoting infrastructure financing and providing support against financial shocks. At the 2023 Johannesburg Summit, BRICS expanded to include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia, becoming "BRICS+" and signaling a goal of creating a more balanced global economic framework....