This number is not inclusive of the numerous occurrences where individual administration leaders were removed by force without a change in regime. Africa s level of underdevelopment is certainly related to its propensity for civil war, but the direction of causality is less clear. 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 follows that the notion of a successful coup would not be determined by. Many commentators and foreign governments also showed tacit support for the junta. The thesis commences by extensively investigating the causes of corruption. The political scientists interest in such actions by the armed forces and in the underlying causes in quite understandable considering the political consequences. Some cavalrystrong states like the tukolor, made sporadic attempts to incorporate weapons like artillery but integration.
Apart from a few countries such as lesotho where the traditional coup or threat of it is still common, coups detat are now far fetched in africa. Since independence in 1962, tutsi dominated regimes have discriminated against hutus. Using the standard economic approach, this study finds that in china regions with more anticorruption. After we attained our independence and our own men took over power from the europeans, the people expected progressive changes, employment. Causes of the civil war in angola ethnic and social tensions prior to the arrival of independence, tensions in angola were about ethnic differences and conflicts, as well as the confrontation between the mpla and fnle forces against the portuguese army as part of the war of independence of angola, begun in 1961 and whose end would give almost. Lastly, weak states are more vulnerable to civil war, and a large number currently exist in africa. Military coups in africathe african neocolonialism that. Jan 28, 2014 since gaining independence in 1960 from the french, mali, africa s third largest gold producer suffered several coups and ethnic tensions until attaining multi party democracy in 1992 with the election of president alpha konare bbc news africa 2012a. West africa s 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. Guerilla warfare was a common military response in many areas of africa during the early colonial era. The paper concludes that military interventions via coups were not entirely wasted years, but created some new management elites who contributed a lot to the economic, social and political developments of the country. Towards an examination of the general causes of coups detat.
Political instability in africa where the problem lies and. Causes, consequences and cures u myint the paper stresses the need to keep the issue of corruption squarely in view in the development agenda. Africa has experienced 80 successful coups detat, 108 failed coup attempts, and 9 reported coup plots between 1956 and 2001 as noted by mcgowan. An overview of conflict in africa in 2014 shirleyde villiers. North africa was a crucial combat zone during both wars. As this weeks graphic shows, coup attempts are a common part of political life throughout africa. Military coups in west africa and regional instability, carnegie endowment for. On the other hand, the principle of federalism has been taken into. Military coups have also often been caused by ethnic rivalry, as well as personal rivalry such as idi amins coup in uganda in 1971, caused by interethnic rivalry among leading army officers, as well as by ethnic resentments against the civil head of state.
Understanding the root causes of military coups and governmental instability in west africa open pdf 2 mb. A government and unconstitutional practices in africa. The following factors are causes of the burundian conflict. Chad many of chads coups have been started because of greed stemming from exploitation of oil reserves in chad 3 colonial effect. Africa, coups, african union, regional organizations, leverage.
The impact of military coups detat on west africa s socioeconomic and political development, by maj. Beginning in the early 1990s, a seismic shift in regime type took place. An event history analysis what explains the propensities of countries to experience coups detat. Harold mcmillan, a british prime minister later called. The transition from colonialism to independence had two major effects.
Violent conflict escalated in africa in 2014, with five countries in subsaharan africa the central african republic car, nigeria, somalia, south sudan and sudan accounting for an estimated 75% of all conflictrelated deaths on the continent. Although there are many widely accepted theories about the causes of military coups in africa, there are some explanations that are almost universally agreed on. If africa of the 1960s and 1970s was a continent of coups detat, todays africa is a hotbed of insurgencies. From the time of the egyptian revolution in 1950s, africa has experienced over ninety military coups, though a number of them have been unsuccessful. Ii theoretical framework several researchers have analyzed political conflict and the causes and outcomes of military coups dsetat. It can install a military, or an alternative civilian government.
However, in current research the causes and consequences of corruption remain poorly understood and are broadly disputed. The enemy within personal rule, coups, and civil war in africa. For example, the anti coup framework adopted by the organiza tion of american states oas was passed in 1991, rendering. Pdf the purpose of this article is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of. The development of effective anticorruption policies is based on a thorough investigation of corruption within and across countries. Pdf explaining african military coups detat, 19601982. Jul 02, 2017 coups in africa, and prior to 1990s, coups had become the main mode of political contestation and leadership change in the majority of african states.
An example is the 1966 coup in ghana in the month or january when a military coup. In a rare alignment, various international peace and security actors condemned malis 18 august coup detat. Military coups and military regimes in africa the journal. In 2012, the political situation worsened, with a surge in violence, resulting in approximately 20 percent of the population of. Debunking the myth of the good coup detat in africa. The political origins of african military coups international studies. Towards an explanation of the recurrence of military coups in. Reducing corruption requires a precise understanding of its causes and consequences. The first cause of military coup is the failure of independent african government in areas of economics and social development. Africa has experienced 80 successful coups detat, 108 failed coup attempts.
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. The near unanimous condemnation of the mutiny in mali followed by the forced resignation of president ibrahim boubacar keita questions the consensus around unconstitutional changes of government in africa. They also called for a return to constitutional order, despite keitas. In 1965 and 1966 alone there were eleven coups with the continent by which most took place between november 1965 and february 1966. Using a coup d etat score, including both successful and unsuccessful coups, as a dependent variable and collecting data for 109 developing nations from the world handbook of political and social indicators, the new york times index, and public documents. Johnson, slater and mcgowan 1984, the literature on structural causes of coups pointed to vibrant civil societies. Such preconditions render even the most responsible governments open to accusations of incompetence and corruption, so inviting coups detat.
In response to the recent coup in niger, which ousted the countrys presidentturnedstrongman mamadou tandja, the capital erupted in pro coup demonstrations. The results of the study concerning the causes of military coups suggest four conclusions. Burundis post independence history is strewn with recurrent coups or attempted coups. A probabilistic approach to the causes of coups detat. Although there are many widely accepted theories about the causes of military coups in africa, there are some explanations that are almost. 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. Burundis post independence history is strewn with recurrent coups or attempted coups and intercommunal violence. Towards an examination of the general causes of coups d. The causes of coups detat 289 restricted to successful coups only. Military coups and military regimes in africa scientia.
Arbitrary use of power, economic mismanagement, and corruption on the parts of politicians in african caused this military coup. And so, more than examination of a particular coup detat is needed. Understanding the root causes of military coups and. Specifically, it is argued that the underlying causes of coups are specialization in and dependency on primary goods for export, exacerbated by poverty. 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. Political instability in africa may owe much of its cause to internal factors, however the interpenetration of internal and external factors especially geopolitical and economic interests of the international community constantly play a significant role in undermining the very processes and institutions that are expected to nurture democracy. An empirical study of the causes of military coups and the. The separation of powers in the new south africa gives rise to a sui generis parliamentary regime, which is borrowing both from the westminster model and the presidential one.
Early work by jackman 19781attributed the coups dsetat that took place in the new states of africa from 1960 to. Ghana is located sub of the sahara and precisely in the west africa region. West africa with its 16 countries is the cradle of military coups and governmental instability totaling 44 coups in 50 years of independence. The impact of military coup detat on political development. In its essence the coup is a lightning action at the. Growth of military statesas late as 1961 the african image had not been tarnished to any great extent by the incidence of military coups. In quick succession, the majority of countries in subsaharan africa moved away from au. I have looked especially closely at nigeria and ghana. Separation of powers and federalism in african by andre mbata. From a decolonial perspective, the causes of the various lesotho coups are. Fortunately for the theory, suggesting as it does the conditions under which a proneness to coups exists, genuine failed coups would be expected before long to be followed by successful ones. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, in spite of ample natural resources including diamonds, gold, land, water, and forests.
There have been several cases of military coup in africa. Thus, 7 percent of coups caused the collapse of central authority wh. They eroded and undermined constitutional rule, entrenched bad governance and created conditions inimical to citizens freedom including by encouraging future coups. In association with broader accounts of regime type hiroi and omori 20. This sudden departure creates a gape in the security and most importantly in the professionalization of the embryonic west african militaries with regards to the civilmilitary relations. Africa s poor economic performance relative to other global regions is a more likely factor in creating the conditions for conflict, including civil wars, than the presence of diamonds or oil within weak states. 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. Military coups in africathe african neocolonialism. Existing theories about the causes of coups detat are examined by multiple regression analysis with a dummy dependent variable, using cross. Article information, pdf download for coups and conflict in west africa, 1955 2004. Current and future trends in africa military coups in africa the african neocolonialism that is selfinflicted the wind of change, as mr. Analysis censuring coups isnt enough african and international actors should tackle the poor quality of democracy and governance.
According to this theory, a military intervention can happen as a. This thesis was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the masters of military art and science, general studies degree from the u. Top 5 reasons for military intervention in nigerian. Debunking the myth of the good coup detat in africa andrew c.
Colonial production, extraverted and coercive as it already was, was ruthlessly reorganized to produce record amounts of primary agricultural and mineral commodities for the imperial armies and economies. Top 5 reasons for military intervention in nigerian politics. Only botswana, mauritius, and the gambia experienced extended periods of peaceful multiparty elections. This research attempted to isolate the most salient causes of.
New powers and technologies however were appearing on the scene. It was a former colony of the british and was popular for its agitation against colonial rule and subsequently became the first black african country south of the sahara to gain her independence. This research posits that the premature and sudden departure of colonial military powers is the major cause of the governmental instability and military coups in west africa. It discusses the causes and consequences of corruption, especially in the context of a least developed country with considerable regulation and central direction. This thesis comprehensively studies the causes and consequences of corruption in both crosscountry and withincountry contexts, mainly focusing on china.
Many formal efforts to combat coups coincided with the end of the ussoviet rivalry, making it difficult to parse out the causes for coups in some regions. Major studies identify and explain the causes in different structural theories. Common to many conflicts is the unsatisfactory nature of interstate borders. Most of the research focuses on three broad, and interlinked, areas of analysis. Debunking the myth of the good coup detat in africa sites. It has become something of a popular trope in the media to point out that attempted and successful coups in africa have been less frequent since the end of the cold war, but as this detailed data set shows, coups are only slightly less common. May, cameroon is reported to execute coup plotters after secret trials, in the new york times, 10 may 1984. This study analyzed the causes of military coups and the consequences of military rule in the third world during the 19601985 period. The causes of conflicts in africa are many and they frequently recur, including major causes of potential tensions and conflicts, which could perhaps be summarised and classified below. The armys corporate grumbles were so strongly phrased that practically the entire press accepted this as the basic reason for the coup. The role of african women in peace building and conflict. He holds a doctorate in african politics from the same university and researches on.
Over two hundred years ago, the first and only military coup to rock australia was experienced. This thesis was written in partial fulfillment of the. Tracing the development of a single african army coup detat does. Recent military coups in africa include coups in mauritania, madagascar, guinea, guinea bissau, central african republic and togo. The continuing high incidence of coups has produced many valuable case histories and generally increased interest in the study of military regimes. Example of such african countries is nigeria ghana, algeria etc.
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