Military Rule In Africa: Etiology And Morphology

Abstract

Capable yet of rivalling Latin America’s record of instability the coup d’etat has become for much of Africa the functional equivalent of elections, and military rule the most common modality of governance. A fundamental overview of the etiology of military coups is a necessary prerequisite to any analysis of military rule in Africa. The implications of the foregoing analysis of African armies and the etiology of military coups are fundamental to an understanding of the morphology of military rule. The relative instability of military regimes stems partly from the malintegrated nature of most African armies and the growth of personalist ambitions within its officer corps. The fissiparous tendencies in African armies notwithstanding, a trend seems to be developing in Africa as military rule begins to acquire an aura of permanence. Stable, permanent, widespread, authoritarian and uninspiring military rule spells the end to the lofty African political dreams of a global role of yesteryear.