How to Prevent Coups D'État: Counterbalancing and Regime Survival by Erica De Bruin

Author:Erica De Bruin [Bruin, Erica De]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Politics
ISBN: 9781501751912
Google: bvk3zQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 50698997
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2020-01-15T09:58:22+00:00

Failed Counterbalancing in Mali, 1960–1968: The Popular Militia

Like Nkrumah, Modibo Keita was ousted from power in large part because of his effort to counterbalance the military. Keita came to power in Mali in 1960. In the preceding years, he had established the Sudanese Bloc (Bloc Soudanais), which affiliated with the African Democratic Rally, a coalition of anticolonial parties, to become the Sudanese Union–African Democratic Rally (Union Soudanaise–Rassemblement Démocratique Africain, US-RDA). When Mali gained full independence, after an abortive effort to set up a union with Senegal, the US-RDA “had already swept away or absorbed all semblance of an opposition.”70 Under Keita’s leadership, Mali soon became a one-party state headed by the National Political Bureau (Bureau Politique National, BPN).

At independence, Mali had a comparatively professional military. It was composed of veterans of the French colonial military and volunteers, and was initially charged solely with territorial defense. Heavy weaponry imported from Communist countries in Eastern Europe built up the army’s supplies.71 In addition to the regular armed forces, Keita formed a Popular Militia (Milice Populaire) in September 1960 as an auxiliary of the US-RDA. Its initial responsibilities included gathering intelligence and guarding national borders. In the mid-1960s, it was also used for agricultural labor in the countryside, establishing cooperative systems and harvesting collective fields where villagers resisted. At this point, the militia served largely as an agricultural workforce.72

Within a few years, the left-wing faction of the US-RDA emerged as the dominant one. Keita made several early moves to assert Mali’s economic independence and associate the country with Communist nations. These included leaving the French monetary union and establishing a new currency, the Malian franc. These choices had unfortunate economic consequences. In response, neighboring Senegal cut off Mali’s rail access to the ocean, which increased transportation costs and slowed exports. An alternative route through the Ivory Coast was eventually secured but at an increased cost. At the same time, France cut off economic subsidies. The result was several years of inflation and economic decline. Keita was forced to introduce austerity measures in 1964. He eventually had to sign a new currency accord with France, under the terms of which Mali’s currency was devalued and government expenditures cut.73 In 1967, an assessment concluded, “Modibo is likely to find himself under increasing pressure as a result of continuing economic strains, inevitable disappointments with the rate of economic recovery under the French Accords, and growing dissatisfaction of labor and youth with the prospects Modibo offers them.”74

As the economic situation deteriorated, Keita came to depend more heavily on the military to quell internal dissent. Demonstrations by local business leaders were violently repressed.75 When the Tuareg rebellion broke out in the north in 1963–1964, the army was sent to suppress it. The conflict turned into a “vicious, bitter struggle” that demoralized many of the soldiers who participated.76 Increasingly, Keita asked the army to intimidate opponents inside and outside of government. The army resented taking on this new role.

In August 1967, Keita began a new campaign of “ideological purification” and anticorruption that came to be called the cultural revolution.

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