ABSTRACT
The demise of the Cold War ideological rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union has had several important ramifications on the contemporary system of international relations. This chapter explores the nature and substance of civil-military relations in Africa in the after-math of the demise of the Cold War. It provides the civil-military relations in Africa within the context of the literature on civil-military relations in other parts of the world. The chapter explains the new patterns of civil-military relations that are beginning to emerge in Africa in the wake of the end of the Cold War. It examines factors that have historically hindered stable civil-military relations in Africa and draws attention to the lessons that can be learned from three decades of unstable civil-military relations in the continent. The chapter argues that the end of the Cold War has triggered some major changes in the nature and the essence of civil-military relations in the region.
