Understanding the (Re)emergence of Military Rule in the Coup Belt
äºAfrica ReviewSearch for other papers by Temitope Peter Ola in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
This study focused on the (re)emergence of military governments in a region of Africa that has earned the name âcoup beltâ. It is based on a data set of coups in 14 sub-Saharan African countries between 2003 and 2024, and using a process-tracing approach it examined the reasons for the frequency of military coups in these states. The data was subjected to critical discourse analysis and the discourse-historical approach. The study posits that the determination of the correct deployment of a state sovereignty is often made by the citizenry, based on their diagnosis and choice of appropriate solutions. But it also shows that the expression of popular will is sometimes subdued and the outcomes are more populist than rational. As incomplete democracies, these fragile polities, fraught with intrasystemic crises, are vulnerable to conflict and competing global interests, which include resource extraction, opening them up to power grabs by elites and military dictatorships. The study concludes that in spite of the debilitating effects of military regimes on nation-states, there are opportunities that citizens can seize to change the narrative.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Ake, C. 1996. Democracy and Development in Africa. Ibadan: Spectrum Books.
-
Chafer, T. 2002. âFranco-African Relations: No Longer So Exceptional?â African Affairs, 101 (404): 343â463.
-
Chipman, J. 1985. âFrench Military Policy and African Securityâ. Adelphi Paper No. 201. London: International Institute for Strategic Studies.
-
Clarke, D. 2010. Africa: Crude Continent: The Struggle for Africaâs Oil Prize. London: Profile Books.
-
Dicey, A.V. 1885. Introduction to the Law of the Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
-
Fawole, A. 2015. âGovernance, Political Instability and Civil Warsâ, in Sesay, A, and Ukeje, C. eds. Security and Developmental Challenges for Africa in the 21st Century: Essays in Honor of Professor Thomas Akhigbe Imobighe. Kuru: National Institute Policy and Strategic Studies.
-
Fukuyama, F. 2014. Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
-
Gilbert, C. 2023. âNiger: en Afrique, la ceinture des coups dâétats redessine la carte du continentâ. France Info. 15 August. https://www.franceinfo.fr/replay-radio/le-monde-est-a-nous/niger-en-afrique-la-ceinture-des-coups-d-etat-redessine-la-carte-du-continen5912414.html Accessed 06.12.24.
-
Hoogvelt, A. 2002. âGlobalization, Imperialism and Exclusion: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africaâ, in Zack-Williams, T., Frost, D. and Thomson, A. eds. Africa in Crisis: New Challenges and Possibilities. London: Pluto Press, pp. 22â26.
-
Karasik, T. 2022. âAfricaâs âcoup beltâ facing further upheavalâ, Arab News, 2 February. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2017096
-
Karl, T.L. 1997. The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States. Studies in International Political Economy 26. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
-
Lukmann, A. 2011. Who Owns the Sahara? Old Conflicts, New Menaces: Mali and the Central Sahara between the Tuareg, Al Qaida and Organized Crime. Berlin: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
-
Luckham, R. 2003. âDemocratic Strategies for Security in Transition and Conflictâ, in Cawthra, G. and Luckham, R. eds. Governing Insecurity: Democratic Control of Military and Security Establishments in Transitional Democracies. London: Zed Books.
-
Madison, J. 1961. âFederalist no. 10â, in Cooke, J.E. ed. The Federalist. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan Press, pp. 64â65.
-
Mansfield, E. and J. Snyder. 1995. âDemocratization and Warâ, Foreign Affairs, 1 May. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/1995-05-01/democratization-and-war
-
Medard, J.F. 2008. âCrisis, Change and Continuityâ, in Adebajo, A. and Mustapha, A.R. eds. Gulliverâs Troubles: Nigeriaâs Foreign Policy after the Cold War. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
-
Mekki, E. 2021. âGuinea Joins the African Club of the âcoup beltââ, BL News 7 September. https://blnews.net/2021/09/guinea-joins-the-african-club-of-the-coip-belt/
-
Meredith, M. 2006. The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence. New York: Free Press.
-
Nye, J.S. 2004. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs.
-
Nordlinger, E.A. 1977. Soldiers in Politics. New York: Prentice-Hall.
-
Offiong, D.A. 1982. Imperialism and Dependency: Obstacles to African Development. Washington, DC: Howard University Press.
-
Ola, T.P. 2019. âOil exports, socioeconomic underdevelopment and United Statesâ trade relations with Nigeriaâ, Acta Universitatis Danubius OEconomica, 15 (2): 217â235.
-
Ola, T.P. and T. Akinjobi-Babatunde. 2022. âNigeria Women and CoVid-19 Pandemicâ, Slovak Journal of International Relations, 20 (2): 83â99.
-
Onuah, F. 2022. âWest African leaders plan peacekeeping force to counter âcoup beltâ reputationâ, Reuters, 5 December. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/west-african-leaders-plan-peacekeeping-force-counter-coup-belt-reputation-2022-12-04/ Accessed 12.12.2024.
-
Post, K.W. 1999. The Nigerian Federal Election of 1999: The Last Act of Treason. http://www.libertas.demon.co.uk/badguys.htm
-
Sartori, G. 1994. Comparative Constitutional Engineering: An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and Outcomes. London: Macmillan.
-
Suleiman, M. 2021. âTowards a Better Understanding of the Underlying Conditions of Coups in Africaâ. E-International Relations, 24 September. https://www.e-ir.info/2021/09/24/toward-a-better-understanding-of-the-underlying-conditions-of[coups-africa/ Accessed 12.12.2024.
-
Twitchett, K.J. 1974. âYaoundé Association and the Enlarged European Communityâ. The World Today, 51.
-
Usman, A. 2023. âFrance has become the common denominator behind Africaâs recent coupsâ. LSE, 28 September. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2023/09/28/france-has-become-the-common-denominator-behind-africas-recent-coups/ Accessed 10.12.2024.
-
Walsh, D. 2023. âCoast to Coast, a Corridor of Coups Brings Turmoil in Africaâ, The New York Times, 29 July. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/world/africa-coups-niger.mtml Accessed 12.12.2024.
-
Young, C. 2004. âThe End of the Post-colonial State in Africa? Reflections on Changing African Political Dynamicsâ, African Affairs, 103 (410): 23â44.
| å ¨é¨æé´ | è¿å»ä¸å¹´ | è¿å»30天 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| æè¦æµè§æ¬¡æ° | 265 | 265 | 30 |
| å ¨ææµè§æ¬¡æ° | 31 | 31 | 4 |
| PDFä¸è½½æ¬¡æ° | 73 | 73 | 9 |
Understanding the (Re)emergence of Military Rule in the Coup Belt
äºAfrica ReviewSearch for other papers by Temitope Peter Ola in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
This study focused on the (re)emergence of military governments in a region of Africa that has earned the name âcoup beltâ. It is based on a data set of coups in 14 sub-Saharan African countries between 2003 and 2024, and using a process-tracing approach it examined the reasons for the frequency of military coups in these states. The data was subjected to critical discourse analysis and the discourse-historical approach. The study posits that the determination of the correct deployment of a state sovereignty is often made by the citizenry, based on their diagnosis and choice of appropriate solutions. But it also shows that the expression of popular will is sometimes subdued and the outcomes are more populist than rational. As incomplete democracies, these fragile polities, fraught with intrasystemic crises, are vulnerable to conflict and competing global interests, which include resource extraction, opening them up to power grabs by elites and military dictatorships. The study concludes that in spite of the debilitating effects of military regimes on nation-states, there are opportunities that citizens can seize to change the narrative.
| å ¨é¨æé´ | è¿å»ä¸å¹´ | è¿å»30天 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| æè¦æµè§æ¬¡æ° | 265 | 265 | 30 |
| å ¨ææµè§æ¬¡æ° | 31 | 31 | 4 |
| PDFä¸è½½æ¬¡æ° | 73 | 73 | 9 |
