Militarizing More to Develop Faster?

This edited book volume is a gripping and detailed analysis of militarization’s permeation and consolidation within Uganda’s economy. The Ugandan government has made a case for the steady deployment and involvement of its military into the country’s development sectors such as land, agriculture and mineral development among others, as part of the strategy to meet its ambitious development agenda. While efficiency might have been strengthened in some cases, the process has also entailed the circumvention of legal regulations as well as civilian participation and oversight. This trend of resource development using the military is occurring amidst increasing levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality, while facilitating the accumulation of wealth by an elite few in Uganda, and thus further undermining long term growth and stability. This book explores some of these themes and offers glimpses into the various ways in which the Ugandan military has advanced from a tool of consolidating political and coercive power, to a mechanism for consolidating ‘military economic power’ through the duplication of roles and the weakening of selected civilian institutions.  The book’s ten chapters offer descriptive and analytical insights into some of the impacts militarization is having on society including increased exclusion of communities from economic activities, inequality and poverty in affected communities, human rights violations, widening ethno-military patrimonial networks, diminished accountability and institutional ineffectiveness among others.

“The book’s contribution is perhaps most poignant in its deconstruction of the various forms of popular resistance mounted against these emerging praetorian trends.  It includes skillfully crafted illuminations of how “scandal” in the form of “nakedness” engenders a feminist perspective as well as broader forms of popular opposition against militarism.”

Joshua B. Rubongoya, Ph.D