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Based on unprecedented access to the Ghanaian military barracks and inspired by the recent resurgence of coups in West Africa, Agyekum assesses why and how the Ghana Armed Forces were transformed from an organization that actively orchestrated coups into an institution that accepts the authority of the democratically elected civilian government. Focusing on the process of professionalization of the Ghanaian military, this ethnography based monograph examines both historical and contemporary themes, and assesses the shift in military personnel from ‘Buga Buga’ soldiers – uneducated, lower-class soldiers, human rights abusers – to a more ‘modern’ fighting force.
“It goes beyond the older studies of military regimes in the “Third World” and beyond more contemporary ethnographies of guerilla movements and violent gangs in Africa (and to an extent parts of Asia). The emphasis on the everydayness of military life and the chapters about the different generations and their expectations of themselves, their careers, globalization and the military are excellent.” • Eyal Ben-Ari, Kinneret Academic College
“This project is based on an unparalleled access to a notoriously difficult institution… [It] is a solid work that… brings an unusual perspective to studies of the military.” • Daniel Hoffman, University of Washington
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Chapter 1. The Breakdown of Everydayness
Chapter 2. On Hierarchy and Trust: ‘Monkeys Play by Sizes’
Chapter 3. On discipline: Disciplining the Body and the Mind
Chapter 4. New Soldiers on the Block: From Buga-Buga Soldier to Disciplined Soldier Subjects
Chapter 5. Factors of Continual Subjection
Chapter 6. Transformation in Broad Perspective: Professionalism, Civility and Civil-Military Relations
Conclusion
References
Index