When Soldiers Rebel
Ethnic Armies and Political Instability in Africa

Soldiers rebel when leaders attempt to build or dismantle ethnic armies, posing a deep challenge to contemporary democratization efforts.

Kristen A. Harkness (Author)

9781108435338, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 March 2022

281 pages, 9 b/w illus. 17 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.418 kg

'In sum, [Harkness'] theory on [soldiers'] ethnic rebel behaviour offers a rich and new perspective on prevailing challenges in Sub-Sahara Africa: civil military relations and preventing military-led coups. In addition, her volume makes an important contribution to the literature on ethnic conflicts as well as democratization research by explaining how armed forces influence democratic transition and consolidation.' Lars Pelke, Democratization

Military coups are a constant threat in Africa and many former military leaders are now in control of 'civilian states', yet the military remains understudied, especially over the last decade. Drawing on extensive archival research, cross-national data, and four in-depth comparative case studies, When Soldiers Rebel examines the causes of military coups in post-independence Africa and looks at the relationship between ethnic armies and political instability in the region. Kristen A. Harkness argues that the processes of creating and dismantling ethnically exclusionary state institutions engenders organized and violent political resistance. Focusing on rebellions to protect rather than change the status quo, Harkness sheds light on a mechanism of ethnic violence that helps us understand both the motivations and timing of rebellion, and the rarity of group rebellion in the face of persistent political and economic inequalities along ethnic lines.

Introduction
1. Ethnicity, military patronage, and soldier rebellion
2. Statistical tests: ethnic armies and the coup d'état
3. Building ethnic armies: Cameroon and Sierra Leone
4. Creating inclusive armies: Senegal and Ghana
5. Dismantling ethnic armies: African militaries and democratization
Conclusion
Appendix A. Preindependence ethnic violence and ethnic politicization
Appendix B. Military coup data
Appendix C. Ethnicity and the military data
Appendix D. Supplementary material for regression analysis.

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], International relations [JPS], Comparative politics [JPB], African history [HBJH]