Rhetoric of Environmental Activism in Ghana

Building on Nancy Fraser’s (1990) theorization of transnational public spheres, this study examines protest rhetoric of Ghanaian environmental activists who use social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter to protest illegal mining (galamsey). I argue that these activists, locally in Ghana and across the diaspora, construct what I call a Transnational Environmental Counterpublic (TEC) to mobilize, raise awareness and influence policy decisions in Ghana. Drawing on multimodal discourse analysis, I examine protest rhetoric across hashtags, viral posts alphabetic and visuals, and non-human materialities (colors, paper, cloth) to understand how networks of activists contest environmental injustices. This analysis shows that protest rhetoric is not only shaped by embodied and material actants, but they also contest the dominant narrative of land exploitation, extractive capitalism, and ecological responsibility in Ghana. I call on the field to recognize the value of transnational rhetorical practices and their role in shaping global conversations on environmental justice, digital activism, and transnational coalition building.