This book explores the political process by which property rights are defined and enforced in two traditional states in colonial Ghana. The case studies within the book ask how colonial institutions transformed indigenous political and economic life; and how colonization and decolonization affected prospects for future economic development and stability in Africa. The introductory chapter outlines a theory of the transformation of property rights systems. The remaining empirical chapters refine this theory through a detailed analysis of the transformation of property rights within an African context. These chapters draw explicitly on rational choice theories to analyse indigenous actors' attempts to redefine and enforce property rights to land by 'reinventing' the traditions of their respective communities. These theories help to understand why property rights systems across Africa remain fluid and insecure.

"Firmin-Sellers adds luster to the influential `Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions' series in a tightly argued, well-researched monograph using two tribal/ethnic case studies to illustrate a series of analytical and theoretical propositions in political economy and beyond....The work's integration of field work with theoretical perspectives is remarkable. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and higher." R.M. Fulton, Choice

"...Firmin-Sellers has written an interesting book that will please those who subscribe to a revisionist version of rational-choice theory....All readers will benefit from her thoughtful and well-researched exposition of the evolution of property rights in the Gold Coast." Robert Fatton, Jr., American Political Science