Historicising coup d’etats in Africa

Abstract

Since the 1952 military putsch in Egypt, Africa has witnessed 214 military coup attempts. Out of these, 104 were successful while 108 failed. Most of the coups were consequent upon the fragile colonial state and governing structures bequeathed on African countries. This chapter takes a historical excursion into the era of military coups and government in Africa since 1952. While colonialism and the nature of decolonisation prepared the context for political instability, post-independent African states were victims of internal socio-political rivalries among the political and military elites. This development, fuelled by the attitudinal disposition of the elites to state power, has remained a defining feature of African governance. The chapter submits that while successive military regimes failed to correct the mistakes of their predecessors, the civilian regimes that succeeded military autocracy continued to falter in the promotion of good governance.