ARMY AND SOCIETY IN AFRICA: HISTORY AND MODERNITY

• Main Author: G. M. SIDOROVA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ассоциация независимых экспертов «Центр изучения кризисного общества» (in English: Association for independent experts “Center for Crisis Society Studies”) 2017-10-01
• Series: Контуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право
• Subjects: the african continent; the army; the armed forces; the democratic republic of congo; civil-military relations; illegal armed groups; the central government
• Online Access: https://www.ogt-journal.com/jour/article/view/24
• ISSN: 2542-0240; 2587-9324

The subject of the study are civilmilitary relations in African  countries. A view on the issues of these relations in the colonial period, in the postcolonial period, as well as at the present  stage is presented, beginning with the formation of the “Force  publique” until the formation of a modern army structure – the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The focus  put is on armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the  problems of army building and reformation process, participation in  military actions of various social groups, including child soldiers and women. The issues of their social adaptation are reviewed. The  problem of observance of human rights is analyzed. Facts from  documents of non-governmental organizations on violations of  human rights among servicemen are cited – the use of torture and  sexual violence against civilians, which, as a result, provokes a mass exodus of people from conflict areas. Among the main violators of  human rights are representatives of law enforcement forces and, first of all, regular army servicemen, including high-ranking  officers. The impunity of crimes gives fertile ground for the  emergence of new flash points of conflict, which entail humanitarian catastrophes and victims. It is reported that one of the key reasons for the critical situation in the legal sphere is the  involvement of the military in the illegal exploitation of natural resources. The methods of empirical political science made it  possible to identify the reasons for the collision between the army  and society, to determine the scopes of their further interaction within the framework of the contradictory political  process in the DRC. The author concludes that the interaction of the  army and society is an unreliable model and is largely conditioned by  the military-political situation in the country. Most African  countries are classified as so-called “failed states” – failed countries, where from the moment of independence until now, armed conflicts that hinder the development  of democratic  foundations do not stop. As a rule, in most African countries the national army, if it exists, is unable to independently perform the  functions assigned to it, first of all, the reliable defense of state  borders. In the situation of incessant local conflict, we often have to speak more about the collisions of the army and the civil society,  rather than about their interaction.