Defensive development, combative contradictions: towards an international political sociology of global militarism in Africa

ABSTRACT

Drawing on international political sociology, this article shows how the merger of development and security has become part of the ideational architecture that facilitates a new ‘feel-good’ militarism in Africa. Contemporary international reform efforts are designed to restrain military power in the name of development, democracy and civilian oversight, but also to strengthen the coercive capacities of African security institutions and make them more efficient in the global fight against violent extremism. Such defensive development efforts have implications for the historically problematic relationship of the African state with modern forms of organised force, reconfiguring and recalibrating relations and dynamics between the state, military forces and external actors. The article concludes that defensive development is fraught with combative contradictions and risks becoming the handmaiden not only of increased militaristic violence, but also of oppression and the restriction of freedom and democracy.

KEYWORDS:

• Africa
• militarism
• civil-military relations
• development
• security
• security sector reform
• international political sociology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Hutchful and Bathily, ‘Introduction’, III.

2. Zewde, ‘The Military and Militarism in Africa’, 257.

3. Hutchful and Bathily, ‘Introduction’, II.

4. Stavrianakis and Stern, ‘Militarism and Security’.

5. Bacevich, The New American Militarism; Mann, Incoherent Empire.

6. Bacevich, The New American Militarism, 25.

7. Abrahamsen, ‘Return of the Generals?’.

8. Ibid.

9. Tilly, Coercion, Capital and European States.

10. Tilly, ‘War Making and State Making’, 186.

11. Guillaume and Bilgin, ‘Introduction’.

12. Bigo and Walker, ‘International, Political, Sociology’.

13. Mann, States, War and Capitalism; Shaw, Post-Military Society; see also Mabee and Vucetic, ‘Varieties of Militarism’.

14. Shaw, ‘Twenty-First Century Militarism’, 23.

15. Ibid.

16. See e.g. Decalo, Civil-Military Relations; Onwudiwe,‘Military Coups’; Kruijt and Koonings, ‘From Political Armies’.

17. Hutchful and Bathily, ‘Introduction’.

18. Luckham, ‘The Military, Militarization and Democratization in Africa’, 15.

19. Kuus, ‘Cosmopolitan Militarism?’, calls for the study of militarism beyond the nation-state, whereas Bernazzoli and Flint, ‘Power, Place and Militarism’, demonstrate the need for grounded studies.

20. Gutteridge, The Military in African Politics.

21. Ibid.

22. Luanda, ‘The Tanganyika Rifles’, 186.

23. Diop and Paye, ‘The Army and Political Power in Senegal’; Hutchful and Bathily, ‘Introduction’.

24. On the continued influence of colonialism, see Iniguez de Heredia, ‘Militarism, States and Resistance’.

25. First, The Barrel of a Gun.

26. Ochoche, ‘The Military and National Security in Africa’, 107.

27. Decalo, The Stable Minority, 2.

28. For example, Zolberg, ‘The Military Decade in Africa’; Welch, Soldier and State in Africa.

29. Ochoche, ‘The Military and National Security in Africa’, 108.

30. Price, ‘A Theoretical Approach to Military Rule’, 405.

31. Zewde, ‘ The Military and Militarism in Africa’, 260–261.

32. Thee, ‘Militarism and Militarization’, 301.

33. Price, ‘A Theoretical Approach to Military Rule’.

34. Abrahamsen and Williams, ‘Security beyond the State’.

35. Vagts, A History of Militarism, 13.

36. Eide and Thee, Problems of Contemporary Militarism; Kinsella, ‘The Global Arms Trade’. For a review of definitions, see Stavrianakis and Selby, ‘Militarism and International Relations’, 3–18.

37. Stavrianakis and Selby, ‘Militarism and International Relations’.

38. Mann, Incoherent Empire, 16–17.

39. Shaw, ‘Twenty-First Century Militarism’.

40. Stavrianakis and Selby, ‘Militarism and International Relations’.

41. Vagts, A History of Militarism, 15.

42. Bernazzoli and Flint, ‘Power, Place and Militarism’, 401.

43. See SIPRI for data on military spending. For the global arms trade, see Kinsella, ‘The Global Arms Trade’.

44. See Abrahamsen ‘Return of the Generals?’.

45. Gill, Today We Drop Bombs.

46. McNamara, The Essence of Security, 149.

47. See Ekbladh, The Great American Mission; Uvin, ‘The Development/Peacebuilding Nexus’.

48. Essex, Development, Security, and Aid, 49; Ekbladh, The Great American Mission; McCleary, Global Compassion.

49. Essex, Development, Security, and Aid, 49.

50. HM Government, ‘Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty’, 11.

51. White House, ‘Remarks by the President’.

52. Abrahamsen, ‘Return of the Generals?’.

53. Eckhard, ‘The Challenges and Lessons Learned’, 18. The figure excludes forms of military and police support that remains outside OECD statistics.

54. Hutchful and Fayemi, ‘Security System Reform in Africa’; Ansorge, ‘Security Sector Reform’.

55. OECD-DAC ‘Handbook on Security System Reform’; Abrahamsen, ‘Exporting Decentred Security Governance’.

56. Luckham, ‘Dilemmas of Military’.

57. Albrecht and Stepputat, ‘The Rise and Fall’.

58. See Scheye, ‘Realism and Pragmatism’; Jackson, ‘Introduction: Second-Generation’; Hutchful and Fayemi, ‘Security System Reform in Africa’.

59. Hutchful and Fayemi, ‘Security System Reform in Africa’.

60. Ibid.; Ansorge, ‘Security Sector Reform’.

61. Jackson, ‘Introduction: Second-Generation’, 3.

62. Ibid.

63. Wilen, ‘Examining the Links’; Hutchful and Fayemi, ‘Security Systems Reform’.

64. Ebo, ‘The Challenges and Opportunities’, 29.

65. For an interesting case, see Raineri, ‘Security and Informality in Libya’.

66. Frowd and Sandor, ‘Militarism and Its Limits’.

67. Whitaker, ‘Compliance among Weak States’.

68. Gelot and Hansen’s contribution to this Special Issue, ‘They are From Within Us’, provides an interesting case study of how Somali NGOs become imbricated in forms of global militarism.

69. Mullen and Jones, ‘Why Foreign Aid is Critical’.

70. Bachmann, ‘Militarization Going Places?’; Bradbury and Kleinman, ‘Winning Hearts and Minds’.

71. Bachmann, ‘Militarization Going Places?’.

72. Branch, Displacing Human Rights, Chapter 7.

73. Between 2003 and 2009, the US military implemented over 150 development projects worth almost US$ 7 million in Kenya. By comparison, Kenya received more than US$ 29 million to train and equip its forces for counterterrorism and stability operations (so-called Section 1206 funds) between 2006 and 2009. Moore and Walker, ‘Tracing the US Military Presence in Africa’.

74. ‘The British Army in Africa’: https://www.army.mod.uk/deployments/africa/ [Accessed 18 February 2019].

75. MOD and FCO, ‘UK International Defence Engagement Strategy’: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/596968/06032017_Def_Engag_Strat_2017DaSCREEN.pdf [Accessed 18 February 2019].

76. Reeve and Pelter, ‘From the New Frontier to New Normal’; Moore and Walker, ‘Tracing the US Military Presence in Africa’.

77. Ibid; Schmitt, ‘Using Special Forces’; Turse, Tomorrow’s Battlefield.

78. Turse, ‘The Year of the Commando’.

79. Wilson, ‘US Ramps up Air Strikes’; Bureau of Investigative Journalism: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/projects/drone-war/charts?show_casualties=1&show_injuries=1&show_strikes=1&location=somalia&from=2018-1-1&to=now [Accessed 18 February 2019]; Morgan, ‘Behind the US Secret War in Africa’.

80. ‘The British Army in Africa’: https://www.army.mod.uk/deployments/africa/[Accessed 18 February 2019].

81. United States Africa Command, ‘U.S. Africa Command 2007–2018ʹ: https://www.africom.mil/our-tenth-anniversary [Accessed 18 February 2019].

82. Kuus, ‘Cosmopolitan Militarism?’, 545.

83. The Economist, ‘Defence Spending’; See also the SIPRI database. Aggregate data conceal massive variations, and the highest spenders are generally countries that are fighting violent extremism either within their borders or in their neighbourhood.

84. Hansen, ‘A Democratic Dictator’s Success’.

85. Abrahamsen and Bareebe, ‘Uganda’s 2016 Elections’.

86. Reeve and Pelter, ‘From the New Frontier to New Normal’, 27.

87. Ibid.; Moore and Walker, ‘Tracing the US Military Presence in Africa’.

88. Hutchful and Bathily, ‘Introduction’, III.

89. Lutz, ‘Militarization’, 320. Linnea Gelot makes a similar observation with reference to civilian protection. See Gelot, ‘Civilian Protection in Africa’.

90. In this sense, contemporary development illustrate with particular clarity Cynthia Enloe’s observation that militarising practices can be embedded within the very institutions considered the hallmarks of civil and democratic governance. See Enloe, Maneuvers, 289.

91. Tilly, Coercion, Capital and European States.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rita Abrahamsen

Rita Abrahamsen is Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the Director of the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) at the University of Ottawa.