African military intervention in african conflicts. But such takeovers are usually transparently over power and ensuring family dynasties that so often rarely last beyond a. These studies focus on the characteristics of the officers who came to poweryoung or old, revolutionary or conservative, on each countrys particular problems, and on the strategies used by the military leaders to stay in power. Even more important, however, jackmans model is strongly grounded theoretically. Kandehs new book on military coups by junior officers in west africa is thus welcome, though it is not without flaws. Africa is the worlds youngest continent, with more than half of the population below the age of 25 and a growing population projected to double to two billion by 2050. May 18, 2015 worldwide, military coups frequently usher in competitive elections that can lead to democratic transitions. Third was the shock that the first dozen or so coups brought to. Nov 15, 2017 the military seems to be firmly in control of zimbabwes capital, harrare, after what appears to have been a military coup.
Stable civilian rule would require an elite pact to regulate political competition within multiethnic states. Military coups are largely driven by elite rivalries inside the military and the civilian government. The fiftyfive years of independence for africas most populous nation have not been easy. Pdf explaining african military coups detat, 19601982. Harold mcmillan, a british prime minister later called. West african states ecowas negotia tors to step down in exchange. The military history of africa is one of the oldest military histories in the world. Centrality, and the struggle over the postcolonial state. The history of the 20thcentury mideast, africa, and south america has often been one of military coups and juntas. Despite the common belief that increased democratic practices should. The number of military coups and coup attempts since 1950 currently stands at around 530, an astonishing number. Coups and coup attempts are a phenomenon that has ravaged the african continent from the time of independence to the present. Explaining african military coups detat, 19601982 thomas h.
In the twelve years following their independence, ethnic strife caused a period of agitation, and subsequently, benin witnessed a series of military coups, a mistaken association with marxism, and the somewhat typical health and infrastructure problems indigenous to its neighbors, and most west african countries. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about benins geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. In the aftermath of the intervention by the military in zimbabwe that led to yesterdays resignation of president robert mugabe, there was a strong call from zimbabweans for the african union au and the southern african development community sadc to not get involved. Five of the most famous african coups egyptian revolution. By 1975, when the first edition of coups and army rule in africa was published, twenty of the continents fortyone states were led by military or civilmilitary cliques. Military coups see beginning of their end in africa huffpost. Military coups and political or social unrest 112, military coups. Military coups in africathe african neocolonialism that. The first is the rise of a new generation of africans, particularly young people and the burgeoning middle class. Located in western africa, the federal republic of nigeria named for the niger river is the most populous country of africa. The country we refer to as benin today was once the powerful kingdom of dahomey. From the time of the egyptian revolution in 1950s, africa has experienced over ninety military coups, though a number of them have been unsuccessful. The impact of military coup detat on political development in nigeria olorungbemi simeon toyin.
Major findings are that military interventions have continued to be pervasive in africa, despite democratisation trends since 1990. The bitter 19041907 war between imperial germany and the herero tribe in todays namibia is an illustration of this pattern, with tragic consequences for the indigenous resistance, including concentration camps, forced labor and a scorched earth extermination policy that even some. He examines democracies in traditional africa and shows how these socieites clearly defined and limited the roles of traditional african armies. In sum, 38 of the 45 countries 84% saw some form of military intervention between the beginning of 1960 and the end of 1982. It was eventually nicknamed the slave coast due to significant trafficking through dahomey of africans against their will to the americas, specifically to the slave markets of brazil and the caribbean it was transformed into a french colony in the late 1800s, before finally gaining its full independence from. Successful 1, attempted 2, plotted 3, and alleged 4 country month day year success leaders deaths angola 10 27 1974 2 antonio navarro inter alia 0 angola 5 27 1977 2 cdr.
The african unions chequered history with military coups. In decalos view, current theory about military intervention in african politics does not sufficiently emphasize the internal structure of each countrys military and the idiosyncracies of their leaders. Some cavalrystrong states like the tukolor, made sporadic attempts to incorporate weapons like artillery but integration. Military dictatorship in africa military dictatorship a form of government where the political power resides with the military. Guerilla warfare was a common military response in many areas of africa during the early colonial era. So attuned have we become to regarding the military coup as a normal, even. Eyadema became the president of togo in 1967 after he led a military coup against the incumbent president, a man he helped bring to power in a bloody military coup. The military organization and its resources is one measure of the power of a state. The french colonial policy integrated french language, institutions, laws and customs into the ivory coast, and even after declaring independence in 1960, cote divoire retained close economic exportimport ties with france, becoming one of the most prosperous african countries over the centuries it suffered through very little political turmoil, but recently, a few poorlytimed military. In total, africa has experienced at least 200 coup attempts since the 1960s with some being successful. Africa and the barrack revolts by ebenezer babatope.
The organization strength of the military along with her control of arms and trained men, make the military a powerful public institution in all states. Apr 17, 2012 a tolerance of military coups today, ghanaian writer elizabeth ohene tackles the issue of military coups for the bbc and says ecowas, a west african regional group that works toward civility. We tend to have a very specific notion of a military coup. This book also examines several security dilemmas that african states and their supporters face. Military coups in africathe african neocolonialism. This number is not inclusive of the numerous occurrences where individual administration leaders were removed by force without a change in regime. In postcolonial africa, the military coup has in effect become the institu tionalized method for changing governments. Top 20 most brutal and ruthless dictators in africa. The second was that the military was as reluctant to relinquish political power as the civilian leaders.
President robert mugabe and his wife, grace, remain safe at home. Military coups and military regimes in africa scientia. Nov 16, 2017 unlike in other parts of africa, military coups have been extremely rare in southern africas postindependence history. Onwumechili provides an exciting perspective on african military coups and reminds us that democracy is not synonymous solely with western societies. Fako johnson likoti submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of phd. Conflict trends in africa marshall page 1 of 7 coups detat in africa, 19462004 annex 2b. Countries with deposed political leaders include honduras, togo, fiji, thailand, haiti, mauritania, venezuela, and more. On 16 september 2015, a military coup detat against the kafando. This research was supported by the new security challenges programme of the economic and social research. Of those 54, 44 have experienced a military coup detat. Africa s wars since the late nineteenth century can be differentiated in terms of their causal factors and dynamics, spatial scales and locations, temporal scope and duration, composition of perpetrators and combatants, military equipment and engagements deployed, impacts on military and. Gnassingbe eyadema remains one of africa s longestserving dictator.
The impact of military coups detat on west africas socio economic and political. From studies of togo, dahomey, the congo and uganda, he concludes that the most significant factor in military regime stability is consistency and equity in army promotions and benefits. False the military often takes power during periods of political instability including violence by radical groups, promising to. The political origins of african military coups international studies. The african military coup detat has accomplished the. This was the first attempt aimed at evolving the nigerian military. Which african countries have never witnessed a military coup. Impact of military coups detat on west africas socio. By 1975, when the first edition of coups and army rule in africa was published, twenty of the continents fortyone states were led by military or civil military cliques. Explaining african military coups detat, 19601982 article pdf available. Operated in africa from 1941 1943 operation torch, nov 1942, opened up a second front on the afrika korps germans, surrounded at tunis and bizeret by land and sea, begin surrendering in may 1943 fm rommel was withdrawn to greece in mar 1943 to organize defenses there. Togo was the first country in west africa to experience a military coup when on january 1963 togolese soldiers, recently demobilised from the french colonial armies and facing unemployment as a result of refusal of their applications to join the miniscule togolese army, staged an armed coup that led to the assassination of president sylvanus olympio. The following table lists major military coups around the world from 2000 to the present.
A theory of coups the risk of a successful coup, rc, can be decomposed into three component risks. However, military coups are a regular occurrence in only of the 44. From this background, onwumechili makes readers appreciate that modern african armies are deviant. After an initial flurry of research in the 1960s and 1970s, the role of the military in african politics has been largely ignored by academics. Praetorianism found a particularly fertile ground in postindependence africa. According to research by patrick mcgowan, a professor of political science at arizona state university in tempe, in subsaharan africa between 1956 and 2001 there were 80 successful coups, 108 failed coup attempts, and 9 reported coup plots.
Nov 21, 2017 longroiling factional conflict within zimbabwes ruling zanupf political party exploded last week in a military coup that quickly seized control of the government and state media. The region produces an abundance of coups, as evidenced by the recent military overthrows of the governments in mali and guineabissau. Dec 20, 2017 there are 54 sovereign nations in africa. Taking stock of good coups in africa the washington post. These differences have also been the source of much conflict since a millennia. West africas largest single state during the 19th century, the sokoto caliphate of northern nigeria moved into the 20th century with its military system intact the traditional mix of infantry and cavalry.
Eritreas military unprofessionalism and us security. Indeed, a field study tour conducted in 1960 1 the year of independence as it has been called to investigate the place of the armed forces in societies in africa did not provide the evidence on which to forecast the eventual spate of coups. With fourteen subsaharan states currently under military rule and several others with a record of. Burkina faso officially the peoples democratic republic of burkina faso, is a landlocked.
Burkina faso lies mostly between latitudes 9 and 15n a small area is north of. Military coups see beginning of their end in africa 10052015 12. The first coup in west africa occurred on january, 1963. Infoplease has everything you need to know about benin. By 1990s there had been 71 coups that had toppled 60% of africas states. Are military coups detat a neverending phenomenon african. Johnson theaugust i 983 overthrow of major jeanbaptiste ouedraogo by captain thomas sankara in upper volta now burkina faso, the new years eve abrupt termination in nigeria of black africas largest. Growth of military statesas late as 1961 the african image had not been tarnished to any great extent by the incidence of military coups. Squeaky wheels and troop loyalty university of kentucky. The only criticism i have has to do with typographical errors which may even tarnish the authors reputation especially as an academic author, although this is not his fault, as. Salah ould henena, abderrahmane ould mini, mohammed ould cheikhna, mohammed ould salek 15 mauritania 8 10 2004 3 knights of change 0 mauritania 8 3 2005 1 col. There were also 56 attempted coups and 102 reported coup plots.
Following the period from 19571960, when most countries in west africa broke loose from colonialism and became independent, the need for an integrated and classless. It started with a military coup detat that took place on july 23, 1952, by a group of young army officers who named themselves the free officers movement. In africa alone, military leaders had launched over 25 successful military coups, ushered in militarization that left 50% of all african countries governed by military regimes by the end of the 1960s. The army and military coups the increased politicisation of the military as a result of the army becoming the prime arbiter in the struggle between the civilian elites and the masses, and the resultant military coups that spread across africa from the late 1960s through to the end of the 1980s were, in part, a function of these dynamics. The beginning of the end of military coups in africa the.
Armies have been analysed in terms of their social and ethnic composition, training, ideology, and socialising influences. In democratic terms, the most explicit form of military intrusion in politics is the military coup detat the military execution of a sudden and unconstitutional change of government or regime. Military coups and military regimes in africa by samuel decalo in the past several years there has been a proliferation of studies on coup detats in africa and the political role of african military structures. Military spending and the risks of coups detats paul collier and anke hoeffler, centre for the study of african economies, department of economics, oxford university march, 2007 we would like to thank lisa chauvet for useful suggestions. The politics of coups detat in africa allen lane the penguin press. In the 1890s, during the european scramble for africa, the territory of burkina. African states with the highest numbers of coups the african country topping the list with the most coup attempts is none other than burkina faso having gone through ten coup attempts in the past. Coup detats in africa post colonial africa has been hobbled by illegitimate political takeovers. Babatopes historical narrative describes inter alia, the coups in nigeria, ghana, zaire, upper volta, sierra leone, togo, benin, central. Military geologists and the german afrika korps 194043.
Africa is a continent of many regions with diverse populations speaking hundreds of different languages and practicing an array of cultures and religions. In many countries the years following independence brought military coups, insurgencies, and governments that had few of the principles of the leaders who championed independence. This is curious for a region with a recent history of regular military intervention. In 1952, the egyptian revolution known as the july 23 revolution began. The absolute value of the latitude of the capital city, divided by 90. Considering what happens in the postcoup environment provides even. The contributors to the military in african politics have divided the regimes into three categories or case studies. If thats not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags. An analysis of military intervention in rwanda, the drc and lesotho. The impact of military coups detat on west africas socioeconomic and political. Military dictatorship in africa by emma williams on prezi. Military coups in west africa since the sixties is an invaluable work, chokefull of facts, and wellbalanced, by one of our important african writers from tanzania. The other answers offered all hit on many of the points, but i think you can summarize them in an approximate ranking of importance thusly. New powers and technologies however were appearing on the scene.
Current and future trends in africa military coups in africathe african neocolonialism that is selfinflicted the wind of change, as mr. Between 1952 and 1981 there were no less than thirtyone coups or military takeovers in africa, thirty of which took place between 1963 and 1981. He died of a heart attack in 2005, and his son faure was named the president of togo in controversial. This suggests that coups as threats to regime survival are far more of a consideration for authoritarian regimes than for democracies. The derg ethiopia egypt dictatorship since 1952 the backbone of the political power is the military the coordinating committee of the armed force and. Considering what happens in the postcoup environment provides even more compelling evi. Which african countries have never witnessed a military. The first and most important involves the tension between military capabilities and political responsibility. Using the latitude and longitudinal coordinates for each available protest. Africa has had some ninety military coups since 1963, and many rulers. Home master of military art and science theses impact of military coups detat on west africas socioeconomic and political development. These young people, who are largely unemployed or underemployed, are frustrated and outspoken about the plight of. The impact of military coups detat on west africa s socioeconomic and political development, by maj. People began settling the region as far back as 9000 bc, but it wasnt until the 9th century that the country began to flourish under the ruling of the kanembornu empire.
Like the history of africa, military history on the continent is often. Coups detat in africa, 19462004 country month day year success leaders deaths mauritania 6 8 2003 2 maj. Africas wars since the late nineteenth century can be differentiated in terms of their causal factors and dynamics, spatial scales and locations, temporal scope and duration, composition of perpetrators and combatants, military equipment and engagements deployed, impacts on military and. Murderous and corrupt regimes in uganda, nigeria, congo, and liberia, to name a few, became emblematic of africa s political landscape. The structural sources of military coups in postcolonial. So it happened that in march 2012, after enjoying twenty years of constitutional democracy, mali briefly fell under the control of a group of middleranking soldiers. Coups detat, military coups, coupproofing, extreme bounds analysis.