An Effective Senegalese Military Enclave: The Armée-Nation “Rolls On”

Abstract

ABSTRACT Senegal is viewed as one of the most stable countries in Africa. Many have hypothesized that this is a product of Senegalese culture, Sufi Islam, and/or French trusteeship. This article contends that Senegal has avoided civil wars and coup d’état due to a critical juncture in civil–military relations in 1962. This created a new path dependence of Armée-Nation ideology, allowing for the creation of a “military enclave”—a strong army in a weak state. Since then, the Senegalese Armed Forces developed bureaucratic-institutional competence that contributed to state-building and improved military effectiveness, all without being a threat to the state or society.