Militaries in Sahelian Politics

Abstract The chapter analyses the trajectories of military rule across the francophone Sahel. It distinguishes between three clusters of countries. Senegal constitutes one extreme on the civil–military spectrum as it has enjoyed continuous civilian rule. Mauritania and Chad, where military rulers have remained part of the ruling elites since the 1970s, constitute the other extreme. Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali are located somewhere in between. Although the Burkinabè armed forces for a long time acted as a pillar of autocratic rule, a large segment of the military eventually helped pave the way for democratization. In Niger and Mali military rule ended with the liberalization of Africa’s political sphere in the early 1990s. Both militaries have again intervened in politics through coups, yet each intervention has proven short-lived. There remains, however, a visible faction that wishes to return to military rule within the armed forces in every Sahelian country.