This study of civil control of the military in Zambia was undertaken in order to
ascertain why in contrast with many other former British colonies in Africa such as
Ghana and Uganda the military in that country has consistently supported the ruling elite
and not sought to obtain political power for itself.
In answering the question why this was the case, this study used the qualitative
methods and analytical concepts of coercive and consensual measures of control,
although the two types of measures are often used in combination, as the main tools that
determined civil control of the military in four periods, namely the colonial period, the
immediate post-independence period, the period of one-party rule, and the period of
reinstated multiparty democracy.
Using either coercive or consensual measures as our tools of analysis,
comparative profiles were constructed of the nature, character and degree of civil control
of the military in each period, and how these were reconfigured by the different political
transitions that ushered in the four periods. This assisted in ascertaining which elements
of civil control of the military remained constant, and which changed. Data was collected
from primary and secondary sources, and verified in in-depth interviews with 20 role
players.
The main findings are that Zambian governments used two main methods to exert
civil control over the military.
During the colonial period (1900–1963), the dominant method was coercive
measures which was reflected in the policies of racial discrimination and implemented
through racialised structures like parliament, the executive and the judiciary.
Consequently, relations between the government, the military, and white settlers were
harmonious, while those with Africans were antagonistic and explosive.
Under the Independence Constitution of the First Republic (1964–1972), the use
of consensual measures was manifested in the normative frameworks found in non-racial
multiparty democracies and spelt out in the constitution and other specific legislation. In
the Zambian case, this was supported by the new government’s motto of ‘One Zambia,
One Nation’.
Under the One-Party Constitution of the Second Republic (1973-1990), the
dominant method was largely through the use of coercive measures characteristic of one
party states in terms of which military and civil intelligence officers monitored the
political activities of all military personnel as well as ordinary civilians. This helped to
remove all anti-government elements from the military.
Under the Multi-Party Constitution of the Third Republic (1991-2004), the
dominant methods were a combination of all good practices inherited from the previous
republics but largely through consensual measures which were manifested in the
reintroduction of strong parliamentary and executive oversight over defence expenditure
and activities.
This study concludes that stable civil control of the military in Zambia in the 20th
century was as a result of effective use of either coercive or consensual measures or the
mixture of the two and this sets Zambia apart from many other African countries. Further
more, it is important to emphasize one point on the relevance of this study’s findings for
the study of civil-military relations. This is that despite that both these types of measures
worked as a solution for Zambia, upon closer scrutiny, civil control of the military cannot
be indefinitely secured by coercive means, and that the only sustainable way of securing
civil control of the military is to maintain consensual relations between the core
‘triumvirate’ namely: the political authorities/government/ruling elite; the military and
military elite; and the citizenry
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/7129 |
| Date | 29 July 2009 |
| Creators | Haantobolo, Godfrey Haamweela Nachitumbi |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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