ABSTRACT
Any academic discussion of “postcolonial politics” that fails to acknowledge the scope of the term will almost certainly miss the implications of its ideological component. Postcolonial politics designates the political activities and engagements of ex-colonies, starting immediately at the termination of colonialism that led to their political independence, the period when African countries that were once victims of colonial structures and systems seized the political mandate to determine what happened in their political life. By necessity, it must be concerned with a people's historical context, which explicates the nature of their politics in the post-independence era and how legacies of the premeditated activities of the imperialists continued to influence their political direction despite independence. As a result, the focus of this chapter will be on postcolonialism in Africa and the issues that led to military intervention in the politics of many West African countries, including democracy and the contemporary push for youth participation in politics.
