Shorter Notices
| Date | 01 September 1970 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070207002500332 |
| Published date | 01 September 1970 |
| Subject Matter | Shorter Notices |
Shorter
Notices
The
Military
in
African
Politics.
By
WMLwAM
GUTTERIDGE.
London:
Toronto:
Methuen.
1969.
viii,
166pp.
$2.50
paper.
This
brief
study
assesses
sympathetically "the
nature
and importance"
of recent
interventions
by
the
military
in
politics
in
tropical
Africa. The
emphasis
is
on
coups
in
Nigeria and Ghana,
and
on
mutinies in
East
Africa.
There
is
also
a
chapter
devoted
to
military
takeovers
in
four
francophone
states. North
Africa,
including
the
Sudan,
is
outside
the
scope
of
the
book,
and Ethiopia
and
Congo
(Kinshasa)
receive
only
pass-
ing
mention.
The
author's
account,
which
combines
"a
historical
approach
with
political
analysis,"
is
largely
based
on
secondary
sources,
supple-
mented
by
revealing insights
into
the military
personalities
involved.
Many
of
these
were
students
at
Sandhurst
where
the author
lectures in
military
studies. Thus,
we
learn
that
Ironsi's
"efficiency
and
his
incor-
ruptibility
were
greatly
exaggerated," and
that
Juxon-Smith
lacked
"the
qualities
of
a
statesman
or
the
professionalism
of
an
Afrifa
or
Gowon."
Perhaps
the
most
original contribution
is
the
story
of
the
struggle
for
political
control
of
the
Nigerian
army
prior
to
the
first
coup.
Although
the author
hesitates
to
construct
broad generalizations
based
on
his
limited
case
studies,
he
does
state
that
"sound
generaliza-
tions
are
likely
to
be
as
much
concerned
with the
political
behaviour
of
the
whole
society
as
with
that
of
the
defence
forces in
particular."
He
is
also cautious
about
attributing
coups
to
economic
causes:
"the
con-
servative
training
of
officers
inclines
them
to
wish
to
defend
the
consti-
tution
rather
than
the
economy."
His
principal
conclusion
is
that
"there
was
no
action
without
the
prospect
of
popular
support."
The
author's
interpretations
of
controversial
events
will
not
always
find
universal
acceptance,
nor
are
some
of
his
facts
beyond
challenge
(as
in
his
claim
that
Kaunda
sent
his son
to
Sandhurst).
Nevertheless,
this
is
a
timely
and
stimulating
contribution
to
an
important
subject.
[DOUGLAS G.
ANGLIN]
Portugal
and Brazil
in
Transition.
Edited
by
RAYMOND
S.
SAYERS.
Min-
neapolis:
University
of
Minnesota [Toronto:
Copp
Clark].
1968.
viii,
367
pp.
$11.00.
This
volume,
based
on
papers
given
at
the
Sixth
International
Collo-
quium
of
Luso-Brazilian Studies held
in
the
United
States
in
1966,
brings
together
essays
from the
fields
of
the
humanities and
the
social
sciences.
At
a
time
when
interest
in
Portugal
and
Brazil
is
developing
rapidly
in
the
United
States,
this
present
collection
of
studies
by
leading
inter-
national
authorities
is
an
indispensable
source
for
layman and
scholar
alike. If
any
single
thread
emerges
from
such
a
varied
collection
of
material,
it
is
that
Brazil
and
Portugal,
bound by
a
common
heritage
of
language,
religion,
and
institutions, thoroughly
deserve
the
attention
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