ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the term militia within the context of the theory of social contract using some determinant variables in the literature. These variables would be validated by empirical analysis based on historical development of civil militias in Africa. The emphasis is to understand the menace and implications of civil militias for national and human as well as community securities in Africa. It is important to contextualise, within some specific theoretical variables, the theory of social contract in order to appreciate the nature of systemic failures that create multiple challenges to the legitimacy of the state. In this regard, there are three theoretical construct of what constitute militia. These are state-centric theory of militia, Non-state Actor Theory and the Fluid Theory of Militia. The failure of the state-centric militia leads to the emergence of the other two, which are positioned as second generation civil militias in Africa.
