The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company: From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company : From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History. / Agyekum, Humphrey Asamoah.

In: Journal of African Military History, Vol. 3, No. 1, 19.10.2019, p. 33-65.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Agyekum, HA 2019, 'The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company: From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History', Journal of African Military History, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 33-65. https://doi.org/10.1163/24680966-00301004

APA

Agyekum, H. A. (2019). The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company: From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History. Journal of African Military History, 3(1), 33-65. https://doi.org/10.1163/24680966-00301004

Vancouver

Agyekum HA. The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company: From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History. Journal of African Military History. 2019 Oct 19;3(1):33-65. https://doi.org/10.1163/24680966-00301004

Author

Agyekum, Humphrey Asamoah. / The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company : From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History. In: Journal of African Military History. 2019 ; Vol. 3, No. 1. pp. 33-65.

Bibtex

@article{53b3ccf7e306478999c02e8569b1fe1c,
title = "The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company: From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History",
abstract = "Graduates of Ghana's defunct Army Boys{\textquoteright} Company, a specialized military training institution for boys, participated to varying degrees in all five successful coups in the West African country. Most significantly, their prominent role in the coups of 1979 and 1981 catapulted them into the heart of the Ghanaian political arena. They thus became political actors; a position with far reaching consequences for the Boys{\textquoteright} Company. Coups in Ghana have received considerable academic attention. However, the focus of this body of literature tended to be on the coup leaders with rarely any attention for the soldiers who facilitate the power seizures by conducting the fighting. This article addresses this lacunae by assessing how the so-called“ex-Boys” radicalized politically, while bringing to the fore their experience at the Army Boys{\textquoteright} Company and in the military. Additionally, the article scrutinizes the conditions that led to demise of the Boys{\textquoteright} Company",
keywords = "Faculty of Social Sciences, Boys{\textquoteright} Company, recruit training, coups, military hierarchy, discipline, soldiering Ghana",
author = "Agyekum, {Humphrey Asamoah}",
year = "2019",
month = oct,
day = "19",
doi = "10.1163/24680966-00301004",
language = "English",
volume = "3",
pages = "33--65",
journal = "Journal of African Military History",
issn = "2468-0958",
publisher = "Brill",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Rise and Demise of the Boys' Company

T2 - From Coup Makers to a Footnote in Ghana's Political History

AU - Agyekum, Humphrey Asamoah

PY - 2019/10/19

Y1 - 2019/10/19

N2 - Graduates of Ghana's defunct Army Boys’ Company, a specialized military training institution for boys, participated to varying degrees in all five successful coups in the West African country. Most significantly, their prominent role in the coups of 1979 and 1981 catapulted them into the heart of the Ghanaian political arena. They thus became political actors; a position with far reaching consequences for the Boys’ Company. Coups in Ghana have received considerable academic attention. However, the focus of this body of literature tended to be on the coup leaders with rarely any attention for the soldiers who facilitate the power seizures by conducting the fighting. This article addresses this lacunae by assessing how the so-called“ex-Boys” radicalized politically, while bringing to the fore their experience at the Army Boys’ Company and in the military. Additionally, the article scrutinizes the conditions that led to demise of the Boys’ Company

AB - Graduates of Ghana's defunct Army Boys’ Company, a specialized military training institution for boys, participated to varying degrees in all five successful coups in the West African country. Most significantly, their prominent role in the coups of 1979 and 1981 catapulted them into the heart of the Ghanaian political arena. They thus became political actors; a position with far reaching consequences for the Boys’ Company. Coups in Ghana have received considerable academic attention. However, the focus of this body of literature tended to be on the coup leaders with rarely any attention for the soldiers who facilitate the power seizures by conducting the fighting. This article addresses this lacunae by assessing how the so-called“ex-Boys” radicalized politically, while bringing to the fore their experience at the Army Boys’ Company and in the military. Additionally, the article scrutinizes the conditions that led to demise of the Boys’ Company

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Boys’ Company

KW - recruit training

KW - coups

KW - military hierarchy

KW - discipline

KW - soldiering Ghana

U2 - 10.1163/24680966-00301004

DO - 10.1163/24680966-00301004

M3 - Journal article

VL - 3

SP - 33

EP - 65

JO - Journal of African Military History

JF - Journal of African Military History

SN - 2468-0958

IS - 1

ER -

ID: 244003149