Managing Election- Relation Violence for Democratic Stability in Ghana In Chapter 2, Danso and Lartey examine the phenomenon of electoral violence and its multiple implications for the processes of democratic consolidation in Ghana. They discuss the centrality of elections in a democracy and seek to understand the fundamental motivation behind the resort to electoral violence. Drawing on insights from institutionalism they contend that democratic consolidation in Ghana will be difficult to achieve without effective institutional frameworks capable of influencing actors' behaviour. They perceive a correlation between institutional strength and democratic stability. In Chapter 3, Aning and Birikorang conceptualize and analyze the instrumentality of populism and populist politics in the acquisition and retention of power by the political class, and the ways in which this approach impact on political trends and processes in Ghana. They contend that populism and populist rhetoric is employed by both military and constitutional regimes, just as it is employed by incumbent governments and the opposition. While, in their view, populism and populist politics have been an integral part of Ghanaian political experience, it has in recent times assumed a disturbing dimension which carries the potential to undermine the consolidation of democracy in Ghana. In Chapter 4, Danso and Edu-Afful discuss the surging use of verbal abuse and unguarded statements in Ghanaian politics, particularly as the 2012 national elections draw closer. Using a range of primarily and secondary data, and with insights from securitization theory, the authors assess the likely security implications of such language for the conduct of elections in Ghana. They identify four main types of political actors- elected party officers, leading members, media(radio/television) 28