Coup Detats in Africa have been rampant from the time the African countries achieved independence from the various colonial governments. However, according to a report by Aljazeera on August 30, 2023, Africa has experienced 214 coup detats, and out of this number, 106 of them have been successful since 1950. Moreover, the same report indicates that 45 out of the total African countries have experienced a coup detat, showing that it is a prevalent political issue in Africa[1]. Coup detats in Africa have led to a serious economic downturn, political instability, citizen insecurity interference, and a decline in African development. Why coup d’etats occur in Africa is a subject that needs more research for readers to gain more insights into this issue and why it happens. Therefore, the research question for this literature review is: What are the various reasons or theories that Africa suffers from Coup detats? The research question matters because it aims at unfolding the various issues that assist in the occurrence of Coup detats. Thus, by understanding the reasons for Coup detats, African countries can develop Coup prevention methods, thus leading to political stability in Africa and improving development in the continent.
Conflict theory is one of the reasons why Africa suffers from Coup d’etat. Anyoko, in his article on the resurgence of military coups in African politics, says coup d’etats in Africa have been caused by conflicts created by unequal distribution of resources among the citizens. Anyoko argues that capitalism in African countries has led to the exploitation of the working-class people because the elites, which include political leaders, have dominated society in all sectors. The elites set up laws and social structures that are unfavorable to the low-class people, and this leads to oppression. Therefore, the military acts on the civil populace to defend them from oppression and create balance in the country, thus leading to the Coup de Tat.[2].
Moreover, the theory of colonial heritage is the second reason that African countries face coup d’etat. The article by Amoateng discusses the impacts of former colonies in African countries and how they have contributed to coup d’etat. In this article, former colonies have continued to influence the African countries’ daily economic conditions and the political system. The political system and leadership are highly influenced by the former colonies, which focuses mostly on the colonies’ interests and undermines the civilians’ issues.[3]. The political system is also influenced by the former colonies, which in most cases does not consider the needs of the ordinary citizens, and this leads to coup d’etats to eliminate the overindulgence of colonial masters in African countries issues. The third reason why African countries face coup detats is ethnic and political fragmentation. Ethnic antagonism, in the article by Chukwu et al., is defined as ethnic dominance by one ethnic group, leading to conflicts as the minor groups strive to fit in the dominant society. In this article, the predominant ethnic groups create political parties that do not include all ethnic groups and have dominated the political system for a long time.[4]. With time, the minority ethnic groups integrate efforts to eliminate the majority ethnic group due to their dominance and mistreatment of the other groups. This eventually leads to a coup detat as the other groups want equal representation in various areas such as politics, business, education, and equal distribution of resources.
In addition, military centrality is the fourth cause of coup d’etats in Africa. Military centrality, in the article by Kuol et al., is the superiority of the military by being given a huge budget, giving it more power than the governments. For example, most West African countries have the military as the most crucial institution. Therefore, it is given huge support, producing big political leaders, businesspeople, and other influential people, making it a threat.[5]. The strengthening of the military makes it ready to conduct coups as an intervention towards civilian suffering. The fifth reason as to why Africa suffers coup de tats is the theory of global capitalism. Global capitalism, according to Alhinho, is whereby the world economic powers continue to exercise capitalism in African countries. The African countries give cheap labor and raw materials to the global powers, which the sitting government coordinates, and this is a form of exploitation to the African countries.[6] Therefore, to ensure the exportation of these resources, political stability is needed, and therefore, there is weak governance, which is prone to coup d’etat from the military and civilians who do not support the exploitation of people and the cheap export of raw materials.
Three Main Competing Theories
The first competing theory of why Africa faces coup detats is the economic theory. Economic theory, as explained by Wiking in his article, is how poor economic conditions and a decline in economic activities have led to coup detats in African countries. When the public experiences poor economic conditions created by the governments for a prolonged time without actions, the military is ready to side with the civilians as it has experienced poor economic conditions such as poverty, unemployment, and lack of basic needs. The government, in this case, takes part in poor economic strategies and corruption, which undermine economic growth. Therefore, Wiking argues that military takeovers in this situation are meant to intervene on behalf of the civilians and improve their lives; thus, they use Coup d’etats.[7] The article by Day et al. (2020), on the other hand, evaluates how economic decline in Africa has led to division among the government, civilians, and the military. The military sides with the civilians to protect them from exploitation by the governing systems, which implement harsh economic strategies unfavorable to the civilians[8]. Eventually, due to these unfavorable economic conditions, a coup d’etat occurs to salvage the country. In addition, Adjapawn evaluates the negative impacts of poor economic performance. Poor economic performance leads to government collapse, and as a result, political instability kicks in. When the economy is unstable, the civilians are adversely affected; thus, they engage in resistance to eliminate the government that does not care about the welfare of its citizens, thus leading to a coup d’etats[9].
Neo-colonialism is another theory explaining the development of coup de tats in African countries. The continued involvement of colonial powers in African countries is another major contributor to coup de tat. Colonial powers have continued to bend the African government towards their interests. In the article by Odijie 2022, neo-colonialism is still continuing even after African countries gained independence because of the control by the colonial powers. However, when the military and civilians see this kind of exploitation happening, they eliminate the government condoning such acts in the contemporary world.[10]. The article gives in-depth insights into the ruling elites and neo-colonialism masters and how their control has contributed to coup d’etats in the African continent.
Anani, in his article, examines the existence of neo-colonialism in Africa despite these countries having gained independence to expand their democracy. For example, countries in West Africa such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are former French colonies, and France still has continued to influence these countries in terms of politics and economy.[11]. These countries have experienced significant limitations in becoming autonomous states as the French control the territories, natural resources, and political systems, and this has led to the inability of these countries to make independent decisions. This has led to increased resistance from the civilians and military to overthrow the French neo-colonialism, resulting in coup detats in most of the West African countries. In this theory of neo-colonialism, Daffe evaluates former colonial power influence in African countries and how it has resulted in Coup detats. In this article, France is seen as the main colonial power to exhibit neo-colonialism in most African countries, leaving these countries without independent decision-making.[12]. Thus, due to this neo-colonial agenda, many African countries have tried to become independent through Coup detats, and this has explained why Africa experiences this problem in the modern world.
The last competing theory towards contributing to coup detats in Africa is weak political and governance institutions, which have allowed illegal acts such as corruption to take place in various African countries. The article by Andrew et al. evaluates how the corrupt regime in Nigeria led to the 1983 coup d’etats, which aimed at eliminating corrupt political leaders and restoring the country’s dignity through religion and anti-corruption campaigns. Talking about corruption in this article is a strength, and also, giving solutions that can be applied to end coup detats in African countries is crucial to address this problem.[13] Mbaku, in his article, examines how a weak constitution has led to Coups in Africa. Various countries in Africa have weak constitutions, which have allowed leaders to stay in power for a prolonged period. For example, Uganda’s constitution has no presidential term limit, with the current president having ruled for over thirty years.[14]. Presidents in Africa ruling for many years have initiated resistance from military and civilians to overthrow the leadership, which has led to coup d’etats. Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was overthrown through a coup d’etat after serving for over four decades as the president, showing that weak political institutions have influenced coup d’etats in Africa.[15].
In conclusion, Coup detats in Africa have been a major challenge in the governance of African countries. The cause of coup d’etats in Africa is a complex issue as there are many causes of this problem, and thus, a single theory cannot be used to explain the problem fully. The problem is caused by a number of reasons, which have been discussed in the essay. These reasons include conflict theory, colonial heritage, ethnic and political fragmentation, military centrality, global capitalism, and greed in the military. Each of the theories discussed gives a unique way of understanding the problem of coup d’etats in Africa. Therefore, an individual wanting to have an in-depth knowledge of this problem should consider all these reasons. Moreover, African countries need to know the reasons to understand how the problem begins and then develop effective measures that can be applied to prevent further coup details. Coup Detats have adverse negative impacts on a country’s economy, and therefore, addressing the problem can improve political stability, economic development, and a secure continent. However, from the literature review, future research needs to address the specific theories in each African country so that political scientists can analyze the problem effectively.
Bibliographies
Adjapawn, Quassy. “The Nexus Between Political Instability and the Socio-Economic Development in Mali: The Discourse, Dissents and Convergence.”
Alhinho, Julia. “Global capitalism crisis fueling coups and instability in Africa.” Frontiers in Political Science 5: 1059151.
Amoateng, Elvis Nana. “Military coups in Africa: A continuation of politics by other means?.” Conflict Trends 2022, no. 1 (2022): 3-10.
Anani, Gregoire. “International policy coups d’état in Francophone African countries causes, consequences and international responses.” (2023).
Andrew, Philips Adega, and Richard Akpashila Undie. “RELIGION AND THE ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA: ANY IMPACT?.”
Anyoko-Shaba, Orkuma. “The Resurgence of Military Coups d’état in African Politics and the Reversal of Democracy.” University of Nigeria Journal of Political Economy 12, no. 1 (2022).
Chukwu, C. James, and Marcia Chidimma Udem. “Ethnicity, Conflict, and Instability: Nigeria’s First Republic perspective.” NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES (NJAS) 5, no. 1 (2023).
Daffé, Keba. “How a military coup led to African agency: An analysis of Mali’s foreign policy changes under competitive authoritarian rule.” Master’s thesis, 2023.
Day, Christopher, Moses Khisa, and William Reno. “Revisiting the civil-military conundrum in Africa.” Civil Wars 22, no. 2-3 (2020): 156-173.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/30/mapping-africas-coups-detat-across-the-years
Kuol, Luka, and Joel Amegboh. “Revisiting Military Spending—Security Nexus in Africa.” International Relations 10, no. 3 (2022): 93-107.
Mbaku, John Mukum. “Threats to democracy in Africa: The rise of the constitutional coup.” (2020).
Odijie, Michael E. “Unintentional neo-colonialism? Three generations of trade and development relationship between EU and West Africa.” Journal of European Integration 44, no. 3 (2022): 347-363.
Wiking, Staffan. Military Coups in Sub-Saharan Africa: how to justify illegal assumptions of power. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 1983.
[1]https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/30/mapping-africas-coups-detat-across-the-years
[2] Anyoko-Shaba, Orkuma. “The Resurgence of Military Coups d’état in African Politics and the Reversal of Democracy.” University of Nigeria Journal of Political Economy 12, no. 1 (2022).
[3] Amoateng, Elvis Nana. “Military coups in Africa: A continuation of politics by other means?.” Conflict Trends 2022, no. 1 (2022): 3-10.
[4] Chukwu, C. James, and Marcia Chidimma Udem. “Ethnicity, Conflict, and Instability: Nigeria’s First Republic perspective.” NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES (NJAS) 5, no. 1 (2023).
[5] Kuol, Luka, and Joel Amegboh. “Revisiting Military Spending—Security Nexus in Africa.” International Relations 10, no. 3 (2022): 93-107.
[6] Alhinho, Julia. “Global capitalism crisis fueling coups and instability in Africa.” Frontiers in Political Science 5: 1059151
[7] Wiking, Staffan. Military Coups in Sub-Saharan Africa: how to justify illegal assumptions of power. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 1983.
[8] Day, Christopher, Moses Khisa, and William Reno. “Revisiting the civil-military conundrum in Africa.” Civil Wars 22, no. 2-3 (2020): 156-173.
[9] Adjapawn, Quassy. “The Nexus Between Political Instability and the Socio-Economic Development in Mali: The Discourse, Dissents and Convergence.”
[10] Odijie, Michael E. “Unintentional neo-colonialism? Three generations of trade and development relationship between EU and West Africa.” Journal of European Integration 44, no. 3 (2022): 347-363.
[11] Anani, Gregoire. “International policy coups d’état in Francophone African countries causes, consequences and international responses.” (2023).
[12] Daffé, Keba. “How a military coup led to African agency: An analysis of Mali’s foreign policy changes under competitive authoritarian rule.” Master’s thesis, 2023.
[13] Andrew, Philips Adega, and Richard Akpashila Undie. “RELIGION AND THE ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA: ANY IMPACT?.”
[14] Mbaku, John Mukum. “Threats to democracy in Africa: The rise of the constitutional coup.” (2020).
[15] Amoateng, Elvis Nana. “Military coups in Africa: A continuation of politics by other means?.” Conflict Trends 2022, no. 1 (2022): 3-10.
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