National Peace Infrastructure and Sustainable Development Goal 16: A Study of the National Peace Council of Ghana

Abstract

While the Infrastructure for Peace (I4P) framework has gained prominence as a locally grounded approach to conflict prevention and sustainable peacebuilding, its implementation within post-colonial hybrid governance contexts remains under-theorised. This article examines how Ghana’s National Peace Council (NPC) operationalises Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16), which emphasises peace, justice, and strong institutions, within a complex institutional environment shaped by both formal state authority and informal systems of traditional and religious legitimacy. The study adopts a qualitative exploratory research design, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 62 purposively selected participants from state peace institutions, civil society organisations, religious bodies, traditional authorities, and security agencies, and is guided by the theoretical lenses of hybrid political orders and hybrid peace, enabling a critical examination of how formal and informal governance systems interact in the production of peace outcomes. Findings indicate that the NPC functions through a form of “hybrid legitimacy,” combining statutory authority with the social and cultural authority of chiefs, religious leaders, and community actors, which enables the Council to mediate electoral disputes, chieftaincy conflicts, and inter-communal tensions, thereby contributing to Ghana’s relative political stability. However, the study also finds that this governance model is structurally constrained due to persistent financial dependency, uneven decentralisation of peace structures, political vulnerability, and limited inclusivity, particularly regarding women and youth, which collectively undermine the Council’s operational effectiveness. The article concludes that while Ghana’s Infrastructure for Peace model illustrates the value of state–society collaboration in sustaining peace, its long-term effectiveness depends on strengthening institutional autonomy, deepening decentralisation, and enhancing inclusive participation, as without addressing these structural constraints, the capacity of the NPC to fully achieve SDG 16 objectives remains limited within Ghana’s hybrid political order.