Security issues in Africa: The imperial legacy, domestic violence and the military

Dr Simon Baynham examines a number of anti-colonial struggles and post-independence military conflicts and coups against the backdrop of the imperial withdrawal. By way of a preface to this series, he discusses some socio-economic and political similarities and differences between African countries. His next article will focus on the political, economic and security implications of recent geopolitical developments on the continent of Africa. In many aspects, Africa's enormous landmass of 30 million square kilometres - some 22 percent of the globe's total - is an area that defies rigorous descriptionption. Except for a slender isthmus of territory linking it to Asia Minor, the continent is completely surrounded by sea. Indeed, 33 of its mainland states have ocean contiguities.2 A century ago, Africa supported a population estimated at 100 million. Today that figure has reached 500 million, double the number for 1960 and growing at 3 per cent each year.