The military and democratization in Lesotho

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Periodical article

Title:	The military and democratization in Lesotho
Author:	Mothibe, T.H.
Year:	1999
Periodical:	Lesotho Social Sciences Review (ISSN 1028-0790)
Volume:	5
Issue:	1
Period:	June
Pages:	47-63
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:	Lesotho Southern Africa
Subjects:	political conditions civil-military relations 1990-1999 politics political science Military government democratization Political crisis
Abstract:	The history of military involvement in Lesotho politics dates back to 1970, when Chief Jonathan, then Prime Minister, instead of handing over power to the opposition Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), set in motion an authoritarian agenda underpinned and sustained by the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF). The military acted as guarantors of civilian power until 1986, when it staged a military coup d'etat and instituted military rule that lasted until the elections of 1993. These elections were massively won by the BCP. Military rule in Lesotho was ended, but not the centrality of military and military-type solutions in politics. Efforts to bring the military under constitutional rule and to restore and sustain civil supremacy over the military appeared largely successful until July/September 1998. In August/September 1998, in the midst of a very serious political crisis following the May 1998 elections, these efforts proved to have been futile. What had happened and what is the way forward for the LDF is analysed in this paper. Bibliogr., sum.