Assessing three of the most enduring civilian regimes in Africa—Botswana, Kenya, and, until the December 1999 coup, the Ivory Coast—Boubacar N'Diaye focuses on the role of civilian regimes in the institutionalization of civilian control. The author warns that only government legitimacy and a culture of genuine military professionalism are likely to assure civilian control of the military. N'Diaye calls for a bold conceptual shift in the study of African civil-military relations away from expedient short-term coup avoidance. Refreshingly, his study emphasizes the policies regimes enact instead of the structures of African societies or the personal idiosyncrasies of leaders. This book has important implications not only for understanding the causes and outcomes of coups in Africa, but also for the study of emerging democracies everywhere.

"Overall, the book is well researched and the author has done a good job admiting historical evidence to back his arguments. His presetnation of the taxonomy of causes of coups is very impressive. Particularly praiseworthy is the organizational clarity of the work and the pains Boubacar takes at every turn to explain how each chapter fits with the rest of the work." - Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security