Download or read book Coups from Below written by J. Kandeh and published by Springer. This book was released on 2004-11-26 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coups from Below represents the first major effort at studying coups carried out by the lumpen section or the subalterns of the armed forces of African states. No previous study has attempted to examine coup making by those in the bottom ranks of the military as a distinct pattern of intervention in African studies. Kandeh examines this pattern as broadly symptomatic of state failure, especially the inability of political leaders to institutionalize power, eradicate mass poverty and promote socioeconomic development.