Samuel Decalo

This is a well-written book about military revolutions in selected African countries in the 1960’s and 70’s. The author’s primary message is that economic and ethnic reasons, or sociological explanations of other sorts, do not give a sufficient account of military coups. Instead he emphasizes the interpersonal relations between civilian and military leaders, the ambitions of high-ranking officers and the demands of ordinary soldiers. To prove the importance of these personal show more motivations he discusses five case studies in some detail: Congo, Benin, Uganda, Togo and Niger.

The author’s classification of different modalities of military rule holds some interest, but it’s a bit hard to follow these detailed narratives of selected military regimes without prior knowledge of these countries. The picture which emerges seems bleak, the end result of military takeover usually being a more or less total lack of rational government. It seems surprising that supposedly fair elections were apparently held in poor African countries ruled by militaries, but unfortunately the author does not expand on this part of his narrative. The case study format has by now made this book outdated even in its revised form, so it’s probably most valuable for academics specializing in Africa who have kept up to date with more recent events in African politics. show less