Chapter 10 Exploring the Involvement of the Youth in Contemporary Ghanaian Politics Mustapha Abdallah and Rhoda Osei-Afful Abstract The youth have generally been part of the politics and political processes of the country. In contemporary Ghanaian politics, the youth constitute an important resource for the mobilization of votes as they play diverse roles in the electioneering activities of political parties and politicians. In the post-2000 political period in Ghana, and especially in the aftermath of the 2008 elections, however, the youth have also been often associated with a wave of political violence. This chapter looks at the youth as an active player not only in the political and electoral processes of the country but also in the perpetuation of political violence. We argue that given the vital role that they play in the electioneering activities of political parties and candidates, there is a certain expectation among the youth that they should be appropriately rewarded, including having a voice in appointments to public positions such as District Chief Executive(DCE) and having some control over the management of some public facilities. Where expectations are not met, 305