The military and democratization in Africa: A comparative study of Benin and Togo

After decades of despotic and/or authoritarian regimes, Africa hers renewed with hope through the wave of democratization. Thanks to factors both endogenous and exogenous, Africans have demanded new constitutional regimes. However, while the credit for economic and political reforms went solely to civil society, it is a fact that no African country democratizes without the consent, either tacit or. explicit, of "military" society. While Kerekau and the military supported democratization in Benin, by joining civil society in a successful National Conference, Eyadema, relying on the army, denounced the National Conference of Togo and continues to resist democratization in the country despite the determination of civil society.