Reframing Civil-Military Relations in Africa – Susan Stigant
Channel: Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Date: 2023-06-27

Presentation from Session 12 of our Emerging Security Sector Leaders Seminar

Civil-Military Relations (CMR) describes the manner in which the military and the society it is meant to protect interact. It is generally defined as a negotiated bargain between three security stakeholders: citizens, civilian government authorities, and the military. CMR focuses less on relationships and more on rules for effective democratic civilian control of security forces, and how to forge a social contract between civil society, elected civilian government, and security institutions. Arguably, the biggest challenge is to address the dilemma of “who guards the guardians” and to craft pathways to reconcile the security sector’s desire to act on the wants of civilians with the ability to do only what civilians authorize.

The concept of CMR has shifted in light of the changing concept of security and the nature of security threats. The concept of security has evolved from state-centric to people-centric, with citizens rather than state becoming a referent object in the way security is perceived, planned, managed, delivered, and overseen. The nature of security threats has changed from more existential threats to the territorial integrity of the state to more complex security threats that cannot be addressed by traditional use of military force, but rather by a coordinated and collaborative response from all security institutions at national, regional, and international levels.

A key challenge in most African countries is how to nurture healthy CMRs that will create a secure environment conducive to citizen security, job creation, justice, and rule of law. There is an alarming regression in democracy and a surge of coup d’états in Africa, combined with increased and unconstrained military spending, all without significant improvements in citizen security and safety. This regressive trend has been exacerbated by weak civilian oversight of the security sector and gaps in knowledge, experience, and attitudes. Reversing such a grim trend in Africa is urgent and will require rethinking, re-negotiation, reform, or transformation of the CMR framework.

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