Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Ethnicity, Military Patronage, and Soldier Rebellion
- 2 Statistical Tests: Ethnic Armies and the Coup d’Etat
- 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 Data
- Appendix B Military Coup Data
- Appendix C Ethnicity and the Military Data
- Appendix D Supplementary Material for Regression Analysis
- References
- Index
3 - Building Ethnic Armies: Cameroon and Sierra Leone
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 August 2018
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Ethnicity, Military Patronage, and Soldier Rebellion
- 2 Statistical Tests: Ethnic Armies and the Coup d’Etat
- 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 Data
- Appendix B Military Coup Data
- Appendix C Ethnicity and the Military Data
- Appendix D Supplementary Material for Regression Analysis
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter analyzes a paired comparison of countries that chose to structure their militaries along ethnic lines, but experienced divergent outcomes in terms of stability: Sierra Leone and Cameroon. The critical difference between them lay in the colonial army they inherited: while newly independent Sierra Leone tried to restructure an already diverse officer corps along ethnic lines, Cameroon's leadership was able to build an ethnic army from the ground up under the protection of the French. Faced with resistance from losing officers, Sierra Leone devolved into instability while Cameroon remained highly stable.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- When Soldiers RebelEthnic Armies and Political Instability in Africa, pp. 87 - 124Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018