Abstract
The study is an attempt to explain the theoretical underpinnings of military involvement in Third World politics. It raised such pertinent questions as to why military rule occurred more in Less Developed Countries than in developed ones and why is direct military involvement in politics condemned globally even when some appeared to have fared better than the prevailing corrupt civilian administrations. These questions were clarified in a study that is basically qualitative in nature using various theories of military intervention in politics to argue that so long as Third World politicians remain intransigent to their societal problems, military involvement in politics will continue to be a phenomenon to be reckoned with notwithstanding that the involvement of the Armed Forces in political life of the people has not reflected any improvement in governance. The work concludes that it would be difficult for any military rule to perform better than civilian-led administrations being a body taught to fight and kill than to govern. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p2047
Highlights
Military involvement in politics either through military rule, sometimes referred to as military government or military regime, is a political phenomenon that has been characteristic of many societies especially the Third World countries
The critical questions this study sets to address are: why does military rule occur more in Less Developed Countries than in the developed ones and why is direct military involvement in politics condemned across the globe even when some appeared to have fared better than the prevailing corrupt civilian administrations in many Third World countries? The study aims to clarify the ambiguities that characterize the concept of military rule and other related terms like the military government, military regime and military intervention in politics, as well as provide a better understanding of some theoretical underpinnings that underscore military interventions in politics around the world
Military rule has become infamous in recent time sequel to its restriction of the fundamental human rights, abrogation of the people’s constitution and in its place, the promulgation and use of decrees, as well as the denial of the people their inalienable rights to participate in governance and the subsequent security threats such rule poses to the concerned society and the world at large
Summary
Military involvement in politics either through military rule, sometimes referred to as military government or military regime, is a political phenomenon that has been characteristic of many societies especially the Third World countries. While it is regarded as a political aberration across the globe in recent times, it has continued to threaten many societies mostly in Africa even at this era of global “project democracy”. Military rule is not a recent phenomenon because it pre-dated even the praetorianism of Roman times and was rampant during the feudal era as well as regular interregnum in the constitutional struggles of many societies, including Africa and other Third World countries especially after their political independence (Igwe, 2005). Condemned across the globe even when some appeared to have fared better than the prevailing corrupt civilian administrations (often mistaken to be democracy) in many Third World countries? The study aims to clarify the ambiguities that characterize the concept of military rule and other related terms like the military government, military regime and military intervention in politics, as well as provide a better understanding of some theoretical underpinnings that underscore military interventions in politics around the world
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