Introducing the Military Mutinies and Defections Database (MMDD), 1945–2017

Published date01 November 2021
DOI10.1177/00223433211020092
Date01 November 2021
Subject MatterSpecial Data Features
Introducing the Military Mutinies and
Defections Database (MMDD), 1945–2017
Jaclyn Johnson
Independent researcher
Abstract
Military mutinies are critical to scholars’ collective understanding of civil–military relations. This article introduces a
new dataset that systematically codes mutinies across all regions and conducts an exploratory analysis of these new
data. The primary contribution made here is the introduction of a new dataset that provides scholars with a sample of
mutinies across region, space, and time. The new Military Mutinies and Defections Database (MMDD) codes events
of military indiscipline from 1945 to 2017. This dataset uses geocoding techniques that will enable scholars to
explore the spatial patterns and diffusion associated with mutinies. The second contribution is the preliminary
exploration of these new data. Of note, I demonstrate that over one-third of all mutinies are violent, 6% of mutinies
are associated with civilian deaths, and anocracies are more likely to experience mutinies than democratic or
autocratic counterparts. MMDD provides investigators with an exciting new tool to explore dimensions of military
disloyalty.
Keywords
civil military relations, coup d’e
´tat, military, mutiny, protests, unrest
Military mutinies are critical to scholars’ collective
understating of civil–military relations. Consider Niger-
ia’s military. Nigeria has not experienced a military coup
in the last two decades. The last fully realized coup
occurred in 1993 after the military annulled the outcome
of a presidential election and stepped into power (Powell
& Thyne, 2011). As such, observers might conclude that
civil–military relations in Nigeria have been relatively
placid over the course of the last two decades. However,
the illusion of quiet within the military hierarchy is not
capturing reality.
Through a different lens, Nigeria’s military is fre-
quently entangled in civilian politics. Soldiers displeased
with the state’s policies often use unauthorized tactics or
refuse to participate in combat. For instance, in July
2008, nearly 30 Nigerian soldiers serving in a United
Nations mission in Liberia protested low pay during
deployment (BBC Monitoring Africa, 2009). Similarly,
Nigerian soldiers mutinied and defected on several occa-
sions in 2014, refusing to fight Boko Haram because
they felt under-resourced (Daily Nation, 2014). Rank
and file troops’ decision not to combat this dangerous
violent non-state actor has had devastating impacts on
local civilian populations. While scholars have developed
datasets to explore the determinants and effects of coups
d’e
´tat, they are limited in their ability to explore muti-
nous events like those that have impacted Nigeria.
Beyond Nigeria, mutinies and defections occur in
every region of the world with increasing frequency,
making them a universal and growing hazard. M23, a
notoriously heinous rebel group in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, formed directly by way of a
military mutiny. Portions of Afghanistan’s soldiers
regularly defect to the Taliban. These mutinies and
defections embolden violent non-state actors by creating
parity between these traditionally weak and ill-resourced
groups and the conventionally stronger state. The 1994
Mozambique mutiny involved 14 renegade soldiers
threatening UN officials, hijacking their vehicles, strip-
ping and beating a general, and raping civilian women
(Brittain, 1994). Indeed, many mutinies are associated
Corresponding author:
jaclyn.johnson@uky.edu
Journal of Peace Research
2021, Vol. 58(6) 1311–1319
ªThe Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00223433211020092
journals.sagepub.com/home/jpr

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