ABSTRACT
Starting in the 1990s, Africa underwent major transformations with the wave of democratization which was supposed to usher in a new era in African politics, and radically overhaul precisely what Robert Jackson and Carl Rosberg called 'personal rule' as the main feature of African political leadership praxis. Theoreticians and practitioners of the democratization process unfolding on the continent had, amid numerous challenges facing Africans in dismantling old authoritarian systems, emphasized the dual challenges inherent in getting the military definitely out of politics and managing sensibly ethnic divisions. Other studies that relate to the major concepts and methodology of this study address the pertinence of a focus on the characteristics of individual political actors in the scientific study of political phenomena. Understanding the backgrounds, personalities, itineraries, and modus operandi of Mauritania's colonels is therefore essential. It will provide a vista into how they approached running the Mauritanian state and, in particular, how they chose to address key challenges facing their country.
