Militarization and Africa: Do Defense Ministers Provide a Political Offset?

Given some of the state celebrations over the course of June, this very interesting piece that uses our ICRG data finds that militarization increases the length of time heads of state remain in power by forcing the allegiance of an army satisfied by increasing its budget, personnel, and equipment.

But administrative control by the military has a mixed effect. While having a military head of state increases the latter’s length of time in power, having a defense minister who belongs to the armed forces acts in the opposite direction.

As a result, the democratic era following the Cold War provides an external explanation for the decline, albeit slight, in the duration of power in Africa; but militarism, with its mixed effects, constitutes an internal explanation.

I love this kind of empirical work.   (https://lnkd.in/eY4e73p2)

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