ON THE THEORY OF MODERNISING SOLDIER: A CRITIQUE

The theory of modernising soldier can be defined as that deductive body of ideas and propositions especially applied to the role of the military in the so-called » non-Western » world. A critical evaluation of that theory, based on some empirical examples, concentrates on two hypotheses with respect to the presumed conditions under which the military acts as a » moderniser » : armies of middle-class origin and armies as the continuers of a national liberation struggle. The empirical materials from Sub-Saharan Africa show the hypothesis of middle-class origin to be dubious for several reasons. The other hypothesis, modernising armies when they continue liberation struggle, is also irrelevant, even if it is more tenable logically and demonstrable empirically. The theory of modernising soldier is therefore inadequate for explaining the phenomenon of civil-military instability in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa.