The term military rule as used here is synonymous with military regime and refers to a subtype of authoritarian regime for most of human history, attaching military to rule would have been redundant, because almost all political regimes in largescale societies of the premodern period. Following the 1966 military coup in nigeria, ethiopia also experienced interventions of military in its history in the 1974 at large. Africa a history of military coups the african military has not retired to the barracks, and it is only a matter of time before it returns, unless something drastic is done to prevent a return. Coups in the world, 1950present database on coups and coup attempts 1950present, by jonathan powell and clayton thyne. Tracing the development of a single african army coup d etat does, i believe, tell more about soldiers and politicians, and their clashes and compromises, than a mere factual inventory of all the coups on the continent. To link to this object, paste this link in email, im or document. The seizure of power took place while obote was abroad attending the commonwealth heads of state conference in singapore. The journal of modern african studies, 22, 4 1984, pp.
Recent years have seen african militaries attempt coups in virtually every geographic region, from egypt to lesotho and guinea to madagascar. Pdf the purpose of this article is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of. This number is not inclusive of the numerous occurrences where individual administration leaders were removed by force without a change in regime. There were also 56 attempted coups and 102 reported coup plots. From the time of the egyptian revolution in 1950s, africa has experienced over ninety military coups, though a number of them have been unsuccessful. On the other hand, while the coups d etat in africa may spring from like. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of african military coups d etat. Military coups see beginning of their end in africa. Sep 17, 2012 impact of military coups d etat on west africas socioeconomic and political development ziankahn, daniel dee on. Slater the orkand corporation patmcgowan arizona state university the purpose of this article is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of african military coups d etat. 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. The resurgence of coups detat in africa expected council action on 9 april uganda circulated a draft presidential statement to council members that addresses the recent resurgence of coups detat in africa. Master of military art and science theses add or remove collections home master of military art and science theses impact of military coups d etat on west africas socioeconomic and political development.
For most of human history, attaching military to rule would have been. Army command and general staff college in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree master of military art and science general studies by fredrick c. In many ways, the coup came as no surprise, nor was it universally condemned or opposed. Johnson skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Policy on postconflict reconstruction and development commission of the african union 2006b. The electronic version of this publication is available under a creative commons attributenoncommercialsharealike 3. The impact of military coup detat on political development. It might have done some harm to nigeria political development, yet it recorded some successes. Example of such african countries is nigeria ghana, algeria etc.
Whereas a coup does not specify the means taken by the revolting party. Impact of military coups detat on west africas socio. Many examples in recent history can attest to the important role the military has played in major regime transitions. Military coups in africathe african neocolonialism that. Despite a few outliers, africa has actually witnessed a meaningful decline in coup activity since the 1950s. The second step examined the effect of military governance on education, the economy, and foreign policy. Home master of military art and science theses impact of military coups detat on west africas socioeconomic and political development. Trends in mediating in africa coups, 20002015 laurie. Indeed, the various controversial military coup detat might be undesirable, but it was not unexpected. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of african military coups detat. 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. It is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures.
Military coups see beginning of their end in africa huffpost. The history of the nigerian army and the implications for the future of nigeria a thesis presented to the faculty of the u. Coordination between the african union and the regional. I military coups detat are the principal form of rcgime change, and 2 they can happen under any type of political system a functioning democracy, a personalistic civilian dictatorship, or an. It argues that, military coup detat was not a total failure and disaster as most political and historical scholars had painted the scenario.
On the other hand, while the coups detat in africa may spring from like. The usurpers do so not for personal gain, but for the benefit of many. To this end, ethiopia under the military rule began by assassinating old. Coups detat, 19462015 list of coups and coup attempts 19462015, by the center for systemic peace. Rather than solve african contemporary political and socioeconomic problems, military coups d etat in africa have tended to drive the continent into even further suffering and turmoil. 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. I military coups detat are the principal form of rcgime change, and 2 they can happen under any type of political system a functioning democracy, a. The sudden overthrow of a democratically elected government in mali in the spring of 2012 by a small group of military insurgents is symptomatic of the reemerging pattern of coups detat which have hit africa in recent years. Explaining african military coups d etat, 19601982 thomash. Mcgowan abstract described here is a new data set including all successful coups ditat 8o, failed coup attempts io8 and reported coup plots 9 for all 48 independent subsaharan african ssa states for the 46year period from january 1956 until. 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. Due to human civilization and development, military coups today are mainly driven by the need to improve the livelihood of people. The first cause of military coup is the failure of independent african government in areas of economics and social development.
Jul 08, 2018 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. The most significant trend identified in table 1 is that african coups are not merely a historical phenomenon, confined to the era of the oau, but have continued to occur on a regular basis since the lome convention was adopted in 2000. They have targeted established democracies, infantile democratic experiments, increasingly authoritarian executives, power vacuums brought on by leader death, andmost recently in burundileaders attempting to circumvent constitutional limitations on. The nigerian economy under military rule from 19832009. Tracing the development of a single african army coup detat does, i believe, tell.
Mcgowan, patrick, and thomas johnson 1984 african military coups detat and underdevelopment. I military coups d etat are the principal form of rcgime change, and 2 they can happen under any type of political system a functioning democracy, a personalistic civilian dictatorship, or an. From 1970 to 1989, according to a study by the african development bank, there were 99 coup attempts in subsaharan africa. Military coups and military regimes in africa scientia. Pdf explaining african military coups detat, 19601982. This is why most of the military coups then were bloody and resulted to lose of life. The african military coup detat has accomplished the transfer of. But from 1990 to 2010, the region witnessed 67 coup attempts, still a high occurrence in comparison to the rest of the world, but nonetheless a decrease of about one. List of coups detat and coup attempts by country wikipedia. Its purpose is to support the au decision of 3 february on the resurgence of the scourge of coups detat in africa. 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. 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. The paper, relying mainly on secondary sources, examines the remote and immediate causes as well as the aftermath of military coups on nigerian political development. This article further contributes to that literature and to our under standing of african military coups detat by presenting a quantitative historical description of these interventions, and by providing a theoretical interpretation that stresses the nature of political conflict and instability under conditions of unsuccessful industrialisation.
An example is the 1966 coup in ghana in the month or january when a military coup. They have targeted established democracies, infantile democratic experiments, increasingly authoritarian executives, power vacuums brought on by leader death, andmost recently in burundileaders attempting to circumvent constitutional. From the perspective of military centrality theory 63. Through examination of recent statistical analyses of african coups detat it is shown that sartoris worst fears have been confirmed. Request pdf on jan 1, 2000, anthony clayton and others published african democratization and military coups find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Conflict trends in africa marshall page 1 of 7 coups detat in africa, 19462004 annex 2b.
Growth of military statesas late as 1961 the african image had not been tarnished to any great extent by the incidence of military coups. African democratization and military coups greenwood publishing group, 1998, pg 37. Current explanations of african coups detat concentrate on national political factors and generate predictive models for both successful and unsuccessful coups. In 1965 and 1966 alone there were eleven coups with the continent by which most took place between november 1965 and february 1966. The conclusion recommended an increase in military to military contact with nigeria to. It is in this wise, that this paper in the main, examines the impact of military coup detat on the political development of nigeria. African military coups detat free download as pdf file.
The african unions chequered history with military coups. Africa, economic development, governance, security, the west, west africa, nigeria, cote divoire. It was the military that had dominated the politics of precolonial africa and influenced the continents history at different times. Arbitrary use of power, economic mismanagement, and corruption on the parts of politicians in african caused this military coup. Combating coups detat in africa, 19502014 springerlink. The term military rule as used here is synonymous with military regime and refers to a subtype of authoritarian regime. The views and conclusions contained in this article are those of the authors, and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, whether expressed or implied, of the united states. Page 105 note 1 the important question of what is a military regime has hardly been touched upon by most analysts. Hence the civilmilitary coalition in upper volta, the civilianised togolese regime, and the largely personal cliques of general idi amin in uganda, and general jeanbedel bokassa in the central african republic, have been dealt with as part and parcel of the same phenomena of. Huntingtons 1991 the third wave begins with a vivid discussion of the portuguese military s role in overthrowing europes oldest dictatorship via a coup detat. Explaining african military coups detat, 19601982 thomas. Explaining african military coups detat, 19601982 thomas h. Rather than solve african contemporary political and socioeconomic problems, military coups detat in africa have tended to drive the continent into even further suffering and turmoil.
African democratization and military coups request pdf. Nito alves, jose van dunen 200 benin 10 28 1963 1 gen. After we attained our independence and our own men took over power from the europeans, the people expected progressive changes, employment. There have been several cases of military coup in africa. A coup detat can be defined as a quick and decisive seizure of governmental power by a strong military or political group. We begin by replicating a wellknown model jackman, 1978 that purports to identify. In sum 38 the 45 84q0 saw s3me form of military intervention between the beginning of 1960 and the end of 1982. The final step determined the future path of nigeria and its army after the birth of nigerias third republic. Tracing the development of a single african army coup detat does, i believe, tell more about soldiers and politicians, and their clashes and compromises, than a mere factual inventory of all the coups on the continent. Trends in mediating in africa coups, 20002015 laurie nathan. Mcgowan abstract described here is a new data set including all successful coups d itat 8o, failed coup attempts io8 and reported coup plots 9 for all 48 independent subsaharan african ssa states for the 46year period from january 1956 until.
But from 1990 to 2010, the region witnessed 67 coup attempts, still a high occurrence in comparison to the rest of the world, but nonetheless a decrease of about one third in two decades. Military rule, political regime in which the military as an organization holds a preponderance of power. Impact of military coups d etat on west africas socioeconomic and political development. The literature on military coups detat in africa is vast. Impact of military coups detat on west africas socioeconomic and political development. The models produced are shown to support the theory and predictions for future coups and policy implications are considered. The ghanaian economy and its performance under military regimes 19721985 51 4. 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. Its purpose is to support the au decision of 3 february on the resurgence of the scourge of coups. The views and interpretations in this brief are those of the authors and do not represent the position and opinions of the african development bank. Impact of military coups detat on west africas socioeconomic and political development ziankahn, daniel dee on. In contrast to a revolution, a coup detat does not involve a mass. 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.