Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät - Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften

Transnational Capital, Networks, and Evangelical Elite Formation in Ghana

Michael Augustus Akagbor (Humboldt University of Berlin) & Michael Okyerefo (Nelson Mandela University)

When? May 26th, 6 PM

Where? IAAW, Invalidenstr. 118, Room 117

Abstract:

The Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Charismatic religious movements in Ghana have progressively pursued connections within the transnational religious circle to link their local churches to global religious networks, international institutions, and diaspora communities. This study treats Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Charismatics together, dubbed the evangelical movement, for the sake of convenience, in view of the commonality they share. The transactional connections that link local Ghanaian religious actors to diaspora networks enable the accumulation of social and symbolic capital, positioning evangelical actors as influential brokers within both national and international power structures. The paper argues that, through transnational networks, evangelical actors accumulate and convert multiple forms of capital, enabling them to emerge as local elites. Grounded in the Ghanaian context, the paper examines how these transnational connections are mobilized to confer legitimacy on the status of ‘an evangelical elite’ in Ghana.

Dr. Michael Augustus Akagbor is a sociologist with a PhD from the University of Ghana and an MA in Socio-Legal Studies from York University. He is currently a research fellow working on the Global Sociology of Elite Conflict Project at the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Humboldt University of Berlin.

Professor Michael Okyerefo specializes in the Sociology of Culture and Religion, with a research focus on global sociology, migration, and African Social Thought. He has held prestigious fellowships at the University of Cambridge and the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Programme. A former Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa, he is currently a Visiting Professor at Nelson Mandela University and serves on the Executive Committee of the International Sociological Association.