When the establishment retains some leverage over reformers change can be slow, superficial, and short-lived. Sudan appears to be a textbook case of this scenario.
Soldiers patrol the Nigerian city of Jos, in the central Plateu State, in a bid to quell religious violence.
EPA/George Esiri
In Nigeria, the government often uses the army to restore order and to keep the peace, largely because the police are unable to contain internal violent conflicts.
Leader of Sudan’s transitional council, Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah Burhan.
EPA-EFE/STRINGER
Some observers think Mugabe’s overthrow by the Army might be a good thing for Zimbabwe. An Argentinean expert on Latin America’s bloody military dictatorships disagrees.
Guinea coup leader Moussa Dadis Camara speaks to the media in 2009.
EPA/STR
By appointing generals to top political posts and hiking defence spending, Donald Trump is imperiling a cherished tenet of the US constitution: civilian control of the military.
General John Kelly, Trump’s pick for the Department of Homeland Security, used to lead US military operations in Latin America. Now American citizens should be scared, too.
Outer space should be used for peace not war.
Shutterstock/Rustam Zagidullin
The rules on armed conflict on Earth are a major source of restraint on military operations. But the rules on the use of weapons in outer space are far from clear. We need to change that.
Latin America’s most important state could never succumb to another military coup. Could it?
Members of the National Reform Council pose for photographs after voting to reject a draft constitution – a decision that will put elections on hold until 2017.
EPA/Narong Sangnak
The rejection of the draft constitution is not necessarily a setback for Thailand’s military junta. It may even have been a ploy to extend its rule well past the promised date for elections.