African Military Coups d'État and Underdevelopment: a Quantitative Historical Analysis
- 1 December 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in The Journal of Modern African Studies
- Vol. 22 (4) , 633-666
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022278x00056275
Abstract
TheAugust 1983 overthrow of Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo by Captain Thomas Sankara in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), the New Year's Eve abrupt termination in Nigeria of Black Africa's largest multi-party democracy, and the decision by the Guinean army in April 1984 to remove their party leaders after the death of President Sékou Touré, illustrate two of the most salient realities of contemporary African politics: (1) militarycoups d'étatare the principal form of régime change, and (2) they can happen under any type of political system–a functioning democracy, a personalistic civilian dictatorship, or an already existing military junta.1Keywords
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- Underdevelopment and Dependence in Black Africa — Origins and Contemporary FormsThe Journal of Modern African Studies, 1972
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