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² Jackman, Robert, ‘The Predictability of Coups d'État. A Model with African Data’, in The American Political Science Review (Washington, D.C.), 72, 4, 09 1978, pp. 1262–75,Google Scholar and Thomas H. Johnson, Robert O. Slater, and Pat McGowan, ‘Explaining African Military Coups d'État, 1960–1982’, in ibid. 78, 3, September 1984, pp. 622–40. See the insightful criticism of the latter research and its oversights by Goldsworthy, David, ‘On the Structural Explanation of African Military Interventions’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies (Cambridge), 24, 1, 03 1986, pp. 179–85.Google Scholar Another critical review of the uncritical application of aggregate-data analysis is to be found in John Ravenhill, ‘Comparing Régime Performance in Africa: the limitations of cross-national aggregate analysis’, in ibid. 18, 1, March 1980, pp. 99–126.

³ See Hughes, Arnold and May, Roy, ‘The Politics of Succession in Black Africa’, in Third World Quarterly (London), 10, 1, 01 1988, pp. 1–22.Google Scholar

⁴ Legum, Colin et al. , Africa in the 1980s: a continent in crisis (New York, 1979), p. 25.Google Scholar

⁵ Though see Karimi, Joseph and Ochieng, Philip, The Kenyatta Succession (Nairobi, 1980).Google Scholar

⁶ See Goldsworthy, David, ‘Civilian Control of the Military in Black Africa’, in African Affairs (London), 80, 318, 01 1981, pp. 49–74,Google Scholar and his ‘Armies and Politics in Civilian Regimes’, in Baynham, Simon (ed.), Military Power and Politics in Black Africa (London, 1986), pp. 97–128.Google Scholar

⁷ Hodder-Williams, Richard, ‘Dr. Banda's Malawi’, in Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics (London), 03 1974, p. 110.Google Scholar

⁸ Harbeson, John (ed.), The Military in African Politics (New York, 1987), p. 2.Google Scholar

⁹ See Decalo, Samuel, Psychoses of Power: African personal dictatorships (Boulder, 1989).Google Scholar

¹⁰ See Finer's, Samuel classic, The Man on Horseback: the role of the military in politics (London, 1962), pp. 77–8,Google Scholar as well as his equally path-breaking ‘The Morphology of Military Regimes’, in Kolkowicz, Roman and Korbonski, Andrzej (eds.), Soldiers, Peasants and Bureaucrats (London, 1982).Google Scholar

¹¹ On the other hand, Joseph Momoh's rather unusual constitutional rise from Army Chief of Staff to President, argues for caution. Possibly Sierra Leone may better be compared and contrasted with civilianised military hybrids.

¹² Gabon's two-day military interlude in 1964 can be viewed as sui generis.

¹³ McGowan, Pat and Johnson, Thomas H., ‘African Military Coups d'État and Underdevelopment: a quantitative historical analysis’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, 22, 4, 12 1984, pp. 633–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

¹⁴ For details, see Decalo, Samuel, ‘The Morphology of Radical Military Rule in Africa’, in Journal of Communist Studies (London), 01 1987, pp. 122–44.Google Scholar

¹⁵ Goldsworthy, in Baynham (ed.), op. cit. p. 117.

¹⁶ Ibid.. p. 119.

¹⁷ See, inter alia, Huntington, Samuel, ‘Civilian Control of the Military: a theoretical statement’, in Eulau, Heinz, Eldersveld, Samuel J., and Janowitz, Morris (eds.), Political Behavior: a reader in theory and research (Glencoe, 1956), p. 380.Google Scholar

¹⁸ As cited in Legum, Colin, ‘Why Tanganyika Accepted a Chinese Mission’, in Africa Report (New Brunswick), 9, 9, 10 1964, p. 16.Google Scholar

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²⁰ Nyerere's decision, for example, enacted consequent to Chinese advice, of having every military unit grow part of its foodstuffs needs on extensive plots adjacent to military bases, and undertaking development-related duties for the state (primarily for the Department of Public Works) was extremely unpopular, and caused considerable grumbling in several military units.

²¹ See ‘Mozambique: politicising the ranks’, in Africa Confidential (London), 15 02 1984, p. 5.Google Scholar

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²³ Murray, J., ‘Succession Prospects in Kenya’, in Africa Report, November 1968, p. 7.Google Scholar

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²⁷ The seminal thrust of this important concept is found in Jackson, Robert H. and Rosberg, Carl G., Personal Rule in Black Africa: prince, autocrat, prophet, tyrant (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 1982).Google ScholarFor a further elaboration on this concept, see Decalo, Samuel, Private Governments in Africa: the privatization of power and the state (forthcoming).Google Scholar

²⁸ See ‘Francisco Macias Nguema: tyrant of Equatorial Guinea’, in Decalo, Psychoses of Power, pp. 31–76.

²⁹ During 1966–9 in Dahomey, for example, the Directorship of the Security Services (Intelligence) changed hands six times, as each incumbent (later demoted or disciplined) utilised the post to promote his personal professional advancement, and to discredit other officers and/or competitive cliques. See Decalo, Coups and Army Rule in Africa, p. 62, fn. 45.

³⁰ President Bongo's political campaigns in France have included massive uranium export funded contributions to the election coffers of the Presidential candidate deemed to be most pro-Gabonese, as well as to radio stations, commentators, and legislators that can sway public opinion or votes in the National Assembly.

³¹ See Clayton, Anthony, ‘Foreign Intervention in Africa’, in Baynham, (ed.), op. cit. pp. 203–58.Google Scholar

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³⁴ By way of contrast, Goldsworthy, ‘Civilian Control of the Military in Black Africa’, p. 56, asserts that it ‘must in the first instance be grounded on questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of civilian institutions’.

³⁵ Goldsworthy, in Baynham (ed.), op. cit. p. 106.

³⁶ Cox, Thomas S., Civil-Military Relations in Sierra Leone: a case study of African soldiers in politics (Cambridge, Mass., and London, 1976), p. 19.Google Scholar

³⁷ Africa Confidential, 15 October 1981, p. 3.

³⁸ Interview in Libreville, 12 August 1988.

³⁹ Clayton, in Baynham (ed.), op. cit. p. 212. See also ‘France: intervention capability’, in Africa Confidential, 1 January 1981.

⁴⁰ Luckham, loc. cit. See also the scathing analysis by Martin, Guy, ‘The Historical, Economic, and Political Bases of France's African Policy’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, 23, 2, 06 1985, pp. 189–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁴¹ See Guillemin, Jacques, ‘L'Importance des bases dans la politique militaire de la France en Afrique noire francophone et à Madagascar’, in Revue française d'études politiques africaines/Le Mois en Afrique (Dakar and Paris), 08–09 1981, pp. 32–44;Google ScholarChipman, John, French Military Policy and African Security (London, 1985), Adelphi Papers No. 210;Google Scholar and Chaigneau, Paul, La Politique militaire de la France en Afrique (Paris, 1984).Google Scholar For an analysis of action taken, see Bon, Daniel and Mingst, Karen, ‘French Intervention in Africa: dependency or decolonization’, in Africa Today (Denver), 27, 2, 1980, pp. 5–20,Google Scholarand Guillemin, Jacques, ‘L'Intervention extérieure dans la politique militaire de la France en Afrique noir francophone et à Madagascar’, in Revue française d'études politiques africaines, June–July 1981, pp. 43–58.Google Scholar

⁴² Gabon has the third-highest number of French military advisers in the 26 states in which France maintains such missions, below only Morocco with 183, and Chad with 125. For some important data on the structural reorganisation of the Gabonese military, see Ammi-Oz, Moshe, ‘L'Évolution de la place et du rôle des forces publiques africaines’, in Le Mois en Afrique, March 1977, pp. 59–78. For fairly up-to-date details on the francophone African armies,Google Scholar see Viaud, Pierre and Lestapis, Jacques de, Afrique: les souverainetés en armes (Paris, 1987).Google Scholar

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⁴⁴ Moose, George E., ‘French Military Policy in Africa’, in Foltz, and Bienen, (eds.), op. cit. p. 60.Google Scholar See also Golan, Tamar, ‘A Certain Mystery. How Can France Do Everything that it Does in Africa – and Get Away with It?’, in African Affairs, 80, 318, 01 1981, pp. 3–11,CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Guiringaud, Louis de, ‘La Politique africaine de la France’, in Politique étrangère (Paris), 06 1982.Google Scholar

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⁴⁷ Chipman, op. cit. p. 30.

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⁵⁰ Tamarkin, loc. cit. p. 301. See also ‘Kenya: the end of an illusion’, in Race and Class (London), 24, 3, Winter 1983, p. 238.Google Scholar

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⁵² Criticisms of President Banda's harsh idiosyncratic rule notwithstanding, there is little doubt that his régime is thoroughly legitimised in Malawi. For more details, see Samuel Decalo, ‘Malawi: dictatorship by consent’, in The Stable Minority, and Boeder, Robert B., ‘Prospects for Political Stability in Malawi’, in Woodward, Calvin (ed.), On the Razor's Edge: prospects for political stability in Southern Africa (Pretoria, 1986), pp. 23–7.Google Scholar