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Abstract

After decades of military interregnum in Africa, there seems to be a new order sweeping across the continent. The men in “khaki,” as the military is often referred to, are shifting their base back to their original enclave, the barracks. This was necessitated by popular outcry and widespread demonstrations by pluralists and professional and civil society against the brutal and oppressive nature of military regimes and pressure from the global community on military rulers to democratize the political space. This has led to variations in transitional politics across the continent. This chapter examines the nature of military intervention and transitional arrangements in Africa. It concludes by arguing that the degree of democratic consolidation in the continent depends largely on the pattern of intervention and mode of withdrawal by the military in countries where they once exercised political suzerainty.

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Ajayi, R., Ibrahim, Y. (2018). Military and Transition Politics. In: Oloruntoba, S., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Politics, Governance and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95232-8_15

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