Ep. 133: A conversation with Naunihal Singh about coups

Coups are on our minds this week, especially with recent events in Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau. Kim and Rachel talk about their own views on "coup contagion" and how their perspectives have changed over time. Then, Kim talks to coup expert Naunihal Singh, who breaks down what coups are, shares how he began studying them, and what we should know about what's happening on the continent now.

Books, Links, & Articles

• Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups by Naunihal Singh
• "Burkina Faso's Coup Makers Capitalized on Wider Grievances within Ranks" by Maggie Dwyer
• "Burkina Faso’s Coup Is Deja Vu All Over Again" by Chris Olaoluwa Ogunmodede
• "Failed Attack in Guinea-Bissau Shakes Coup Weary West Africa" by Vagner Barbosa
• "Strategies of Repression: Judicial and Extrajudicial Methods of Autocratic Survival" by Fiona Shen-Bayh
• "What Happens When Coups Fail? The Problem of Identifying and Weakening the Enemy Within" by Josef Woldense
• "Pro Footballer Sadio Mane is Providing UBI to a Poor Region of Senegal"
• "Anyone Planning A Coup Should Read This First" by Kim Yi Dionne  
• "There Wasn't A Coup In Lesotho But Will There Be?" by Kim Yi Dionne 
• Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard W. French 
• Decolonizing Politics: An Introduction by Robbie Shilliam
• Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor 

Previous Episodes We Mentioned

• Ep37. A conversation with Dr. George Karekwaivanane on the struggle for power in Zimbabwe 
• Ep. 68 A conversation with Maggie Dwyer about army mutinies in Africa, and more.
• Ep79. A conversation with Ken Opalo about political institutions, public goods, and more
• Ep. 101: A conversation with Anne Meng about authoritarianism and leadership succession 
• Ep. 130 A conversation with Nkatha Kabira about the past, present, and future of African law

Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com.