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“We Are not into Politics, but Politics Is into Us”: The Politicization of the Ghana Armed Forces Through Patronage Exchanges between Political Elites and Military Leaders
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2023
Abstract
Throughout Ghana’s political history, soldiers have inspired socio-political change. Based on fieldwork with the Ghanaian military, this article contributes to literature on militaries and civil-military relations in Africa. Agyekum analyzes how the politicization of the military impacts dynamics within the barracks, while highlighting how the country’s political class endeavors to diminish the armed forces’ societal and political influence as a way to gain control over the institution through patronage exchanges. Since the early 2000s, the elite’s strategy entices individual soldiers as well as the whole institution through the politicization of promotions and appointments, recruitment, better service conditions, and infrastructural projects in the barracks.
Résumé
Tout au long de l’histoire politique du Ghana, les soldats ont inspiré le changement sociopolitique. Basé sur un travail de terrain avec l’armée ghanéenne, cet article contribue à la littérature sur les armées et les relations civiles et militaires en Afrique. Agyekum analyse l’impact de la politisation de l’armée sur la dynamique au sein des casernes, tout en soulignant comment la classe politique du pays s’efforce de réduire l’influence sociétale et politique des forces armées afin de prendre le contrôle de l’institution par le biais d’échanges de patronage. Depuis le début des années 2000, la stratégie d’élite a séduit individuellement les soldats ainsi que l’institution dans son ensemble en politisant les promotions et les nominations, le recrutement, l’amélioration des conditions de service et les projets d’infrastructure dans les casernes.
Resumo
Ao longo da história política do Gana, os soldados têm motivado diversas mudanças sociopolíticas. Partindo de um trabalho de campo com as forças militares ganianas, o presente artigo é um contributo para a literatura sobre as relações entre forças militares e entre forças militares e civis em África. Agyekum analisa o impacto da politização dos militares no contexto dos quartéis, ao mesmo tempo que sublinha o modo como a classe política do Gana se esforça por conter a influência societal e política das forças armadas, como forma de obter o controlo da instituição através da troca de favores. Desde o início da década de 2000, a estratégia desta elite tem consistido em aliciar individualmente os soldados, bem como a instituição no seu todo, através da politização das nomeações e das promoções de carreira, do recrutamento, da melhoria das condições de trabalho e de projetos infraestruturais nos quartéis.
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