Military Forces and Police in Dysfunctional States of Sub-Saharan Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.14.2017.50.04Keywords:
dysfunctional states, Sub-Saharan Africa, military forces, policeAbstract
Armed forces and police in dysfunctional states of Sub-Saharan Africa are usually weak, both in terms of training, discipline, equipment and morale. The army is frequently dragged into political conflicts, especially as there is a rule that who controls armed forces has power, and the loss of control of the army is tantamount to the loss of power. A similar problem concerns the police, which is even more corrupt and dependent on political influence. The police is often more preoccupied with supporting the ruling party than with protection of the public order, and citizens associate it with forcing various types of bribes. The analysis of the relation between the weak statehood challenges and the condition of the armed forces and police presented in the article is a result of the author’s long-term research on dysfunctional states in Sub-Saharan Africa, based, inter alia, on the fieldwork conducted in more than twenty African states.
Downloads
PlumX Metrics of this article
References
“2014 Nigeria Military Strength”, Global Firepower, at <http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=Nigeria>.
Google Scholar
“2016 African Powers Ranked by Military Strength Ranking”, Global Firepower, at <http://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing-africa.asp>.
Google Scholar
“2016 Central African Republic Military Strenght”, Global Firepower, at <http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=central-african-republic>.
Google Scholar
“2016 Zimbabwe Military Strenght”, Global Firepower, at <https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=zimbabwe>.
Google Scholar
Angola: Peace Monitor, vol. 4, no. 5 (31 January 1998), at <https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Urgent_Action/apic_13198.html>.
Google Scholar
Ardenne A. van et al., Explaining Darfur. Lectures on the Ongoing Genocide, Amsterdam 2011.
Google Scholar
Bender J., “France’s Military Is All Over Africa”, Business Insider, 22 January 2015, at <http://www.businessinsider.com/frances-military-is-all-over-africa-2015-1>.
Google Scholar
Butcher T., Rzeka krwi. Podróż do pękniętego serca Afryki, transl. by J. Czernik, Warszawa 2009.
Google Scholar
Chołaszczyński K., Etnopolityka jako funkcjonalny element kształtujący system polityczny Republiki Zimbabwe, Toruń 2014.
Google Scholar
Dogs of Wars, dir. J. Irvin, Juniper Films, USA/United Kingdom 1980.
Google Scholar
Fund for Peace, Fragile States Index 2016, at <http://fsi.fundforpeace.org/>.
Google Scholar
Frynas J.G., Oil in Nigeria. Conflict and Litigation between Oil Companies and Village Communities, Münster 2000.
Google Scholar
Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Peace Index 2016, at <http://www.visionofhumanity.org/#/page/indexes/global-peace-index>.
Google Scholar
Kaldor M., New and Old Wars. Organized Violence in a Global Era, Stanford 2007.
Google Scholar
Koerner B., “Who Are the Janjaweed? A Guide to the Sudanese Militiamen”, Slate Magazine, 19 July 2005, at <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2004/07/who_are_the_janjaweed.html>.
Google Scholar
Meredith M., Historia współczesnej Afryki. Pół wieku niepodległości, transl. by S. Piłaszewicz, Warszawa 2011.
Google Scholar
Norman A., Mugabe. Teacher, Revolutionary, Tyrant, Stroud 2008.
Google Scholar
Ojulu E., “The General in His Labyrinth”, New African, no. 558 (February 2016).
Google Scholar
Smith I., Bitter Harvest. The Great Betrayal, London 2001.
Google Scholar
Taban A., “Sudan’s Shadowy Arab Militia”, BBC News, 10 April 2004, at <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3613953.stm>.
Google Scholar
Tycholiz W., “Kryzys w Delcie Nigru”, in D. Kopiński, A. Polus (eds.), Zgubne transakcje. Fatal transactions. Surowce mineralne a rozwój państw afrykańskich, Warszawa 2010.
Google Scholar
Uesseler R., Wojna jako usługa. Jak prywatne firmy wojskowe niszczą demokrację, transl. by M. Kalata, Warszawa 2008.
Google Scholar
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, “South Sudan: UN Report Contains ‘Searing’ Account of Killings, Rapes and Destruction”, 11 March 2016, at <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17207&LangID=E>.
Google Scholar
Van der Spuy E., “Transforming Safety and Security in Southern Africa: Some Trends and More Challenges”, in G. Cawthra (ed.), African Security Governance. Emerging Issues, Johannesburg 2011, at <http://dx.doi.org/10.18356/8534c619-en>.
Google Scholar
Wieczorek R., Pęknięte serce Afryki, Kraków 2008.
Google Scholar
The account of missionary priest Mirosław Gucwa, Bouar, Central African Republic, 27 November 2013.
Google Scholar
The account of missionary priest, Mirosław Gucwa, Bouar, Central African Republic, 15 August 2010.
Google Scholar
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
