Warlords and militarism in Chad

Abstract

After considering the inadequacies of the prevailing concern in African studies with violence and the collapse of the postcolonial state, the authors argue that the uses made of concepts of ‘militarism’ and ‘militarisation’ are equally confused and inadequate, particularly in explaining recent Chad history. They suggest an alternative approach, the elaboration of the warlord model used to discuss Chinese history between 1916 and 1928. They argue that there are striking parallels between the China of that time and Chad from the late seventies in the form of the collapse of central control, the rise of regional centres of power based on personalised rule and military force, and the consequent prevalence of a politics of conflict and war.