Chapter 2 Democracy on a Knife Edge: Ghana's Democratization Processes, Institutional Malaise and the Challenge of Electoral Violence Kwaku Danso and Ernest Lartey Abstract The increasing optimism generated by Ghana's series of successful elections has led to the depiction of Ghana as the'bastion of democracy' in Africa. This image is, however, misleading given the multiple dysfunctional complexities that accompany Ghana's electoral and political processes. Drawing on insights from institutionalism – the assumption that institutions matter in the management of the political arena – this chapter argues that democratic consolidation in Ghana will be difficult to achieve without effective institutional frameworks capable of influencing actors' behaviour, especially within the context of elections. The chapter highlights the nexus between elections and democratic consolidation and makes the case for strengthening formal institutional mechanisms in order to address the increasing incidence of electoral violence, which could push Ghana to the brink of armed violence in this election year. Keywords: Elections, actors, violence, democratic consolidation, institutions, neopatrimonialism 33