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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The Economics of the Coup |
Author: | Jones, William I. |
Year: | 1969 |
Periodical: | Africa Report |
Volume: | 14 |
Issue: | 3-4 |
Period: | March-April |
Pages: | 23-26 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Mali |
Subjects: | coups d'état Politics and Government Economics and Trade |
Abstract: | The coup on November 19, 1968, of the young officers in Mali was made possible by a constellation of economic factors. The political power in sub-Saharan Africa is concentrated in the towns and in the ranks of government employees. In Mali, since independence this government-employed elite has seen its purchasing power cut by government action and eroded by inflation. Most of its members accepted the devaluation of May 1967 as the price for French support, but after convertibility was restored, the benefits of it were still not visible. The resulting climate of malaise made the young officers the natural allies of the members of the government. The roots of this malaise lie in a fundamental disequilibrium inherited from French rule, and in the government's attempts to carry out Kali's 'socialist option' and the five-year development plan. These developments are exposed in the article. |