Military Forces and Police in Dysfunctional States of Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Armed forces and police in dysfunctional states of Sub-Saharan Africa are usually weak, both in terms of training, discipline, equipment and morale. The army is frequently dragged into political conflicts, especially as there is a rule that who controls armed forces has power, and the loss of control of the army is tantamount to the loss of power. A similar problem concerns the police, which is even more corrupt and dependent on political influence. The police is often more preoccupied with supporting the ruling party than with protection of the public order, and citizens associate it with forcing various types of bribes. The analysis of the relation between the weak statehood challenges and the condition of the armed forces and police presented in the article is a result of the author’s long-term research on dysfunctional states in Sub-Saharan Africa, based, inter alia, on the fieldwork conducted in more than twenty African states.

Keywords

• dysfunctional states
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• military forces
• police