African Military History and Politics: Coups and Ideological Incursions, 1900–Present

237 Pages·2001·1.449 MB·English

by  A. B. Assensoh, Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh (auth.)

African Military History and Politics
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African Military History
and Politics
Coups and Ideological Incursions,
1900–Present
A. B. Assensoh
and
Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh
Foreword by Richard W. Hull
Introduction by Okey Onyejekwe
AFRICAN MILITARY HISTORY AND POLITICS
© A. B.Assensoh and Yvette M.Alex-Assensoh,2001
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any man-
ner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quota-
tions embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published 2001 by PALGRAVETM
175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and
Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Companies and representatives throughout the world
PALGRAVE is the new global publishing imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC
Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly
Macmillan Press Ltd).
ISBN 978-1-349-38670-3 ISBN 978-0-312-29272-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780312292720
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Assensoh,A. B.
African military history & politics: coups and ideological incursions, 1900–
present /A.B.Assensoh,Yvette Alex-Assensoh;foreword by Richard W.Hull;
introd. by Okey Onyejekwe.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Civil-military relations—Africa—History—20th century. 2. Coups
d’etat—Africa—History—20th century.3.Africa—Politics and government—
20th century.
I.Title:African military history and politics.II.Alex-Assensoh,Yvette M.III.
Title.
JQ1873.5.C58 A77 2001
960.3'1—dc21 2001021863
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Westchester Book Composition.
First edition:January 2002
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This volume is dedicated to our son,Baby Livingston Alex,
who is named for his maternal grandfather of blessed memory,
Reverend Livingston Alex (1928–1998) of Breaux Bridge,
Louisiana,USA;and also to Mrs.Thelma Coleman Alex
and Mrs.(Nana) Enola Thomas for their inspiration
and support at all times.
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C O N T E N T S
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
Foreword by Professor Richard W.Hull xix
Introduction by Professor Okey Onyejekwe xxiii
Chapter One: Africa’s Recent Colonial Past,1900-1970 1
Chapter Two: Africa’s Armed Forces in Retrospect:
The History of the Colonial and Postcolonial Forces 47
Chapter Three: Corrupt and Dictatorial Tendencies:
The Tacit Invitation for Military Intervention 61
Chapter Four: Military Leaders Turned Civilian Rulers 81
Chapter Five: Military Presence in African Politics:
Stability or Instability? 99
Chapter Six: African Coups Galore:
Foreign and Ideological Influences 127
viii Contents
Chapter Seven: African Coups in Political and Theoretical Contexts 143
Chapter Eight: Conclusion 169
Notes 183
Bibliography 205
Index 209
About the Authors 217
P R E F A C E
A. B.Assensoh and Yvette M.Alex-Assensoh
A lot of historical-cum-political factors prompted us,as a historian–political sci-
entist team,to write this book. The most recent factor which reinforced our
interest to finish the manuscript appeared in the Chicago Tribuneof December 25,
1999, titled: “General leads a revolt in Ivory Coast coup.” As researchers, we
could not believe that a stable French-speaking West African nation like the
Ivory Coast could also fall prey to the incessant coups d’etat that have engulfed
many countries on the African continent.
Expressing surprise, the Christmas day article from Associated Press corre-
spondent Alexandria Zavis, in the Ivory Coast capital of Abidjan, began with
these words:
This African nation,long a bastion of stability in a region wracked by war,
was riven Friday by an army revolt described by its declared leader as a
coup d’etat.Army troops and civilians together looted parts of the capital,
Abidjan,a day after soldiers went on a rampage. Many soldiers said they
were owed back salary and perks,while others on Friday said the revolt
was aimed at ousting the President [Konan Bedie].1
Ivory Coast Army General Robert Guei, who had been replaced as army
chief in a 1995 reshuffling of officers,led the coup to topple the elected regime
of President Konan Bedie.Characteristically,France,Ivory Coast’s former colo-
nial power,condemned the coup and reportedly “issued a statement calling for
the immediate re-establishment of order and security in Abidjan.”2 This is one
of the most recent events in which African army officers have toppled an elected
or a sitting government,and one wonders about the political history of all of
these incidents. Our study unfolds the stories behind many of the coups d’etat.
In doing so,we have also traced how we began to show interest in the subject as
well as behind-the-scenes antics that culminated into an entire manuscript for
this study.