The recent surge of coups d’etat in Africa holds significant implications for U.S. foreign policy. Dr. Naunihal Singh, author of Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups, joins host Carrie Lee to discuss his extensive research on this topic. They explore the definition and historical context of coups, examining the intricate dynamics involved. Dr. Singh’s insights, particularly on the role of mid-grade military officers, offer a unique perspective on this complex issue, crucial for those interested in civil-military relations and the future of democracy.
I was interested in democracy. I was interested in development. I was interested in conflict and it seemed that all of these things all revolved around questions of the military, particularly in developing countries. And so if you were going to have a democracy, what’s the major threat to democracies? Well, it’s coups.
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Naunihal Singh is an associate professor and director of the Africa Regional Studies Group at the U.S. Naval War College. He received his BS from Yale and his PhD from Harvard. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame, the United States Air War College prior to coming to the Naval War College. He is the author of Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups as well as multiple articles published in both scholarly journals and general publications. Most recently, he is the author of “The Myth of the Coup Contagion,” in the Journal of Democracy, and his research has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post and Foreign Policy Magazine.
Carrie A. Lee is an associate professor at the U.S. Army War College, where she serves as the chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy and director of the USAWC Center on Civil-Military Relations. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and a B.S. from MIT.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Naval War College, U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: An infantry fighting vehicle in Harare, Zimbabwe during the November 2017 coup.
Photo Credit: Tafadzwa Tarumbwa via Wikimedia Commons