An Altered View of Mutinies

This chapter concludes the book by reviewing the key themes and arguments. It also explores the future of mutinies in Africa.

The Typical Mutiny

This chapter looks at common traits in the demands made by mutineers in Africa as well as the way revolts are carried out. It starts by briefly discussing the role of the military in African states to show the historic roots of many of the mutineers’ grievances. The focus of the chapter then shifts to the act of mutiny and an analysis of common tactics. Examples will demonstrate that often mutineers are not acting simply on impulse but rather have a strategy in their actions. Lastly, the chapter will discuss the success rates of mutinies.

An Escalating Cycle of Mutinies

This chapter focuses on the mass mutinies in Burkina Faso in 2011. A brief history of revolts in Burkina Faso will show that while the mutinies were exceptional in their size, they followed a pattern of previous similar incidents. An examination of the civilian demonstrations that also took place in Burkina Faso in 2011 will set the stage for the mutinies and illustrate how many of the themes expressed in the protests overlapped with military complaints.

Mutinies with Unintended Consequences

This chapter focuses on a series of mutinies in The Gambia in the early 1990s. The chapter begins with a history of The Gambian military, which remains the youngest force in the region. Aspects of its unique development, often in collaboration with foreign contingents, contributed to the grievances expressed by mutineers in 1991 and 1992. Both mutinies also involved complaints about peacekeeping deployments. The final part of the chapter explores how the reversal of democratization in The Gambia under President Jammeh (1994-2017) made mutinies less likely.

A Coup Hidden in a Mutiny

This chapter focuses on a revolt involving roughly fifty soldiers on April 29, 1992 in Sierra Leone. A brief history of the role of the military in Sierra Leone prior to the revolt will help contextualize the soldiers’ grievances. The chapter will then examine the internal dynamics of the unit drawing on interviews with soldiers involved in the revolt. Their complaints and suspicions about political leaders crystalized into a plan for a mutiny and ultimately resulted in a coup. This case study builds on the discussion of the differences between coups and mutinies.

Public Discourse, Protests and Revolts

This chapter identifies how a spike in the occurrence of mutinies in the 1990s corresponds to what is often referred to as the democratization period in Africa. While militaries in the region generally were not involved in advancing the democratization movement, mutineers’ rhetoric and demands often appeared to have been borrowed from civilian groups advocating for greater democratic rights. The chapter will also look beyond the 1990s to demonstrate that mutinies most often occur in countries that display respect for civil liberties and political freedoms.

The Popular Allure and Academic Neglect of Mutinies

This chapter introduces the study of mutinies and highlights the lack of academic attention on this type of revolt in an African context. It lays out the book’s two overarching themes. One is that mutineers are usually driven by a combination of material demands and a perceived injustice. The other theme is that soldiers use mutinies to communicate with senior leadership. The chapter then demonstrates how this interpretation challenges other understandings of mutinies.

The Price of Hardship

This chapter begins by explaining why recently deployed troops may be especially prone to mutinies. The discussion is applicable to internal deployments as well as international deployments. The latter part of the chapter focuses specifically on the link between mutinies and international peace operations.

Out of the Shadows of Coups

This chapter details the book’s research design. The study takes two distinct but complementary approaches to examining mutinies. One is a dataset that documents the occurrence of mutinies in West and Central Africa from 1960 to 2014. The other approach involves in-depth case studies of mutinies in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Burkina Faso, which include extensive interviews with mutineers and others knowledgeable about the revolts. This chapter will also expand on the definition of mutiny used in the research and show how it differs from a coup d’état.