THE STRUCTURAL SOURCES OF MILITARY COUPS IN POSTCOLONIAL AFRICA, 1957-1984

Why has postcolonial Africa been so vulnerable to military coups? Exam ination of the different types of military interventions (plots, attem pts, and successful seizures) and comparison of the immediate independ ence period with the 1970s show the major sources of coups to be ethni c antagonisms stemming from cultural plurality and political competiti on, and the presence of strong militaries with factionalized officer c orps. There is no evidence for a political ''overload'' due to rising mass participation, but politically factionalized regimes were more vu lnerable to coups. During the 1970s, export dependence created politic al turmoil, which led to plotting, but foreign capital penetration, by strengthening states, deterred coups. Military coups are largely driv en by elite rivalries inside the military and the civilian government. Stable civilian rule would require an elite pact to regulate politica l competition within multiethnic states.