Rethinking the Resurgence of Military Coups in Africa

Abstract

The immediate post-colonial Africa was hitherto noted for incessant military incursions into politics, but the waves of democratisation that swept through Africa from the late 1970s to the 1990s led to the acceptance of liberal democracy as the most desirable political system. Over the past decade, stakeholders in Africa’s democratisation have had to ask whether democracy is being consolidated on the continent. Despite the promise of democracy, most African countries have failed to attain political development beyond what has become the ‘ritualistic’ conduct of elections and political transitions. The inability to institutionalise democracy has become more evident with several military coup d’états in the past 2 years on the continent. Through unstructured interviews, the article historicises military coups, examines their root and immediate causes and explores whether military coups constitute a democratic reversal in Africa. Indeed, consolidating democracy and restoring civilian governments to power have become cumbersome due to the complicit roles of external actors and foreign powers.