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

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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
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of African Military History
Volume3
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)33-65
ISSN2468-0958
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Oct 2019

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Social Sciences - Boys’ Company, recruit training, coups, military hierarchy, discipline, soldiering Ghana

ID: 244003149