Africana Periodical Literature 
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| Title: | The neopatrimonial framework and military coups d'état in Africa: reflections |
| Authors: | Aidoo, Kojo Opoku DeMarco, Peter |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Periodical: | Research Review (ISSN 0855-4412) |
| Volume: | 25 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 47-62 |
| Language: | English |
| Notes: | biblio. refs. |
| Geographic terms: | Subsaharan Africa Africa |
| Subjects: | coups d'état political systems patronage politics Ethnic relations--Political aspects Political corruption Abuse of administrative power Africa--Politics and government |
| Abstract: | In the immediate postcolonial era, in all too may cases, changes in government in Africa took place via a military putsch. In the past, attempts to comprehend the pervasive presence of the military in politics on the continent proceeded via military explanations, class, prebendalism, ethnic and weak State institutions analysis. The present authors take as their point of departure the ingrained informal institutions of neopatrimonial rule, which are so pervasive in postcolonial Africa. The authors explore the validity of the neopatrimonial thesis as an explanation for military coups in sub-Saharan Africa. First, they examine the concept of neopatrimonialism as a description of the nature of African States. Then they outline three ways in which neopatrimonialism might contribute to political instability, focusing on the 'pure' version of the theory and its connection to theories of ethnic conflict. The paper concludes by considering the limitations of the neopatrimonial paradigm. The paper is intended to augment the understanding of the relative utility of neopatrimonialism as an elucidation of military interventions in Africa. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French [Journal abstract] |