Ghana has been described as peaceful country, but violence occurs from time to time involving various protagonists, which are ethnic, religious, economic and political. Fortunately for Ghana as a country, the potential for war has long been recognised and efforts geared at addressing it have included the following: 1. Establishment of the National Peace Council with offices nationwide 2. Participation in the creation of the ECOWAS treaties of both 1993 and 1999 3. Periodic educational campaigns on peace (especially during general elections). Attempts have also been made by various agencies to establish a database of conflict zones and to design early warning systems to help pre-empt violence.

However, to date, no comprehensive mapping of conflict hotspots has been undertaken for the country, which will, in map overlays, show the spatial incidences of these conflicts. This gap is what this study seeks to fill – to provide in text and in maps the spatial and temporal dynamics of violent conflicts in Ghana as a tool for policy makers, the security agencies and students of peace studies to anticipate and pre-empt violence. In mapping conflict zones in Ghana, this study also examined the various conditions that breed violence in relation to direct violence (deliberate policies and structures that cause human suffering, death and harm) and cultural violence (cultural norms and practices that create discrimination, injustice and human suffering) as well as the current state of the violent conflicts. In situations where conflict is destructive, it can hinder progress in the society; encourage individuals to resort to unfriendly behaviours such as “win-by-all means-necessary” attitudes, where emotions take precedence over reason leading to the disintegration of groups and the scuttling of national development projects.