Military-authoritarian Regimes: the Build-ups and Temptations in Africa

Often asked question is why has military regimes become commonplace in the twenty first century when most countries organise regular elections, have parliaments, constitutional courts, multiparty system and state- and private-owned media organisations? In other words, why are the temptations for military regimes becoming popular among citizens in Africa? Linz (1964) points to the climate of limited political pluralism, and Glasius (2018) notes of the increasing threats to open society that is linked to lack of democratic accountability, while Wunsch and Blanchard, (2022) point to the lowering standards of political rights and civil liberties in both old and new democracies thereby resulting to two decades of the ‘decline of democratic governance’ (Freedom House, 2023). A related hypothesis is the link between civilian authoritarian regimes in Africa and ethnic conflicts/insurgency that have created feelings of ethnic insecurity and mutual hostility because one ethnic group is not convinced of the intentions of the other ethnic group due to unjust domination of and discrimination against out-group members. Could these anomalies be the current military attempts to correct years of institutional damages under the former civilian authoritarian leadership? Further hypothesis is to illuminate on the substantial gap between citizenship needs and democratic deliverables and whether the military juntas will better guarantee the yearning for democratic deliverables? Temptations for military regimes require substantial scholarly inquiries through historically grounded approach, and/or mixed-methods that draw upon extensive literature to establish whether there is or there will be differences between civilian or military type of authoritarianism, or to increase conversations on improving liberal democratic values in Africa. These are the puzzles: Why the resurgence of military regimes? Are open space and society better guaranteed under military regimes? What is the empirical evidence to guide public motivations against the temptations for military regimes?