Assad's Syria and Saddam Hussein's Irak were built on 'cooperating' minorities against a majority, where the loyalty of the minorities to the leader was guaranteed by real threats of suppression or extinction from the majority. Those were religious rather than tribal antagonisms, but effective in its cruelty until it was not. Gaddafi was maybe special in his balancing of different groups; will you tell that story some time?
this was a really interesting article! I'm curious as to why Obote decided to "Africanize" the army in 1964. Was promoting his fellow tribesman supposed to reduce tensions within the military or what would the motivation for this be?
1. African Nationalism: The common sentiment of post-independence, African nationalism was that "We aren't truly independent yet. The Colonizers still dominate everything!" So the idea was that true independence is achieved by Africanizing the civil service & military so they were no longer dominated by former colonial officials. Some leaders took it further with the entire economy.
2. Promote your own ethnicity for Loyalty: By promoting members of his own ethnic group, the Lango, Obote likely believed their shared language and deeper connections would ensure loyalty and reduce the risk of a coup.
3. Ethnic balancing: Post-independence, Bugandans and South Asians dominated the economy. Obote’s Lango tribe was barely literate. So this kind of like an affirmative action program.
Assad's Syria and Saddam Hussein's Irak were built on 'cooperating' minorities against a majority, where the loyalty of the minorities to the leader was guaranteed by real threats of suppression or extinction from the majority. Those were religious rather than tribal antagonisms, but effective in its cruelty until it was not. Gaddafi was maybe special in his balancing of different groups; will you tell that story some time?
Good question, Libya's rule has some similarities and differences. In fact, I plan to redo my Libya article.
My old one doesn't have the same depth as the way I write now.
Gaddafi's rule was more of "tribal balancing" rather than relying on a single group of support (like Alawites in Syria or Sunni minority in Iraq).
My old Libya article:
https://yawboadu.substack.com/p/the-history-of-libya
this was a really interesting article! I'm curious as to why Obote decided to "Africanize" the army in 1964. Was promoting his fellow tribesman supposed to reduce tensions within the military or what would the motivation for this be?
1. African Nationalism: The common sentiment of post-independence, African nationalism was that "We aren't truly independent yet. The Colonizers still dominate everything!" So the idea was that true independence is achieved by Africanizing the civil service & military so they were no longer dominated by former colonial officials. Some leaders took it further with the entire economy.
2. Promote your own ethnicity for Loyalty: By promoting members of his own ethnic group, the Lango, Obote likely believed their shared language and deeper connections would ensure loyalty and reduce the risk of a coup.
3. Ethnic balancing: Post-independence, Bugandans and South Asians dominated the economy. Obote’s Lango tribe was barely literate. So this kind of like an affirmative action program.
Good questions, always feel free to ask some. Either here or in my Substack chat.