Security Issues in Africa: The Imperial Legacy, Domestic Violence and the Military

The author first discusses some socioeconomic and political similarities and differences between African countries. Next, he examines a number of anticolonial struggles (notably in Kenya and Algeria) and postindependence military conflicts (in particular in Congo, now Zaire, and Nigeria) and coups against the backdrop of the imperial withdrawal. In numerical terms, 31 African States have already experienced military intervention and 19 have been subjected to more than one coup d’tat. The remainder of the article is devoted to an explanation of the success rate in the seizure of office by the military and their motivations in this respect. The tentative conclusion is that there are signs that the era of interminable intervention by the military in politics may be coming to an end. Notes, ref.