African Military History and Politics

Africa's former colonial masters, including Great Britain; France, Portugal and Spain, trained members and leaders of the various colonial Armed Forces to be politically non-partisan. Yet, the modern-day Armed Forces on the continent, made up of the Army, Police, Air Force and Navy, have become so politicized that many countries in Africa are today ruled or have already been ruled by military dictators through coups d'etat, occasionally for good reasons as the book points out. This book traces the historical-cum-political evolution of these events, and what bodes for Africa, where the unending military incursions into partisan politics are concerned.

a Runner-Up for the 2002 Cecil B. Currey Association of Third World Studies Book-Length Publication Award.

"Important . . . a reminder that military interventions in African politics are indeed still alive and well, but also that the interventions have a solid history across generations." - Ali A. Mazrui, Director, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, SUNY-Binghamton

"At a time in which there is a frantic search throughout the African continent for permanent strategies to keep the military out of politics, it is refreshing to have a volume such as this one that has carefully mapped out the tortuous road that the African military has forced the continent to traverse these past several decades. This volume is unique in the time period it covers (beginning prior to 1956 in order to trace the origins of the military presence in politics), its focus on the entire African continent, and its truly multidisciplinary approach - combining historical acuity with attention to political detail." - Pita Ogaba Agbese, Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa and Co-Director of the Ford Foundation Project on the Military Question in West Africa

Autorentext
A. B. ASSENSOH is Associate Professor in the Afro-American Studies Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

YVETTE ALEX-ASSENSOH is Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Inhalt
Foreword; R.W.Hull Introduction; O.Onyejekwe Preface Acknowledgements Africa's Recent Colonial Past, 1900s-1960s Africa's Armed Forces in Retrospect: The History of the Colonial and Post-Colonial Forces Corrupt and Dictatorial Tendencies: The Tacit Invitation for Military Intervention Military Leaders-Turned Civilian Rulers Military Presence in African Politics: Stability or Instability? African Coups Galore: Foreign and Ideological Influences African Coups in Political and Theoretical Contexts Conclusion Bibliography Index