African Studies and Military Coups in Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	African Studies and Military Coups in Africa
Author:	Decalo, Samuel
Year:	1986
Periodical:	Journal of Contemporary African Studies
Volume:	5
Issue:	1-2
Period:	April-October
Pages:	3-25
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Africa
Subjects:	coups d'état military regimes defence Politics and Government Military, Defense and Arms
Abstract:	This article deals with the etiology and morphology of military rule in Africa, viewed from the perspective of the evolving discipline of African studies. Although this subject is quite straightforward, there is still no fundamental agreement about why coups occur, and only recently has a consensus emerged about what may be expected of rule under the aegis of the military. This article first discusses early interpretations of the coup phenomenon (the 'systemic deficiencies' approach and the 'organizational theory' approach) in general. Then it looks at how these approaches influenced African studies, and the discipline's conceptualization of the coup phenomenon and the nature of military rule. Finally, the article presents an analysis of the nature of military rule, arguing that it is only by thoroughly grasping the nature of African military forces, and the myriad factors that contribute to the eruption of coups, that it is possible to explain the contemporary, very jaundiced view of military rule in the continent prevailing amongst Africanists. Ref.