1960s–1990s: (The Big Men and Their Regimes — Mobutu in Zaire, Idi Amin in Uganda, Bokassa in the Central African Republic, Kenyatta and Moi in Kenya, Rawlin…

1960s–1990s: (The Big Men and Their Regimes — Mobutu in Zaire, Idi Amin in Uganda, Bokassa in the Central African Republic, Kenyatta and Moi in Kenya, Rawlings in Ghana, Banda in Malawi, Mengistu’s Dergue in Ethiopia, Leaders Hoarding Power for Kin and Ethnic Buddies, Western Powers Supporting Odious Regimes as Stable Cold War Allies, and the Emergence of People Power from the 1980s Onward): The endemic insecurity of postcolonial political systems resulted in leaders literally hoarding power, monopolizing it for kin, provincial, or ethnic allies, intolerant of opposition and hostile to pluralism. The list of such rulers between the 1960s and 1980s is long — Zaire under Mobutu, Uganda under Idi Amin, the Central African Republic under Bokassa, Kenya under Kenyatta and then Moi, Ghana under Rawlings, Malawi under Banda. Many enjoyed foreign support: Amin was seen by Britain as an attractive alternative to the left-leaning Obote, while Bokassa was initially favored by France. In Ethiopia, the overthrow of Haile Selassie in 1974 brought the supposedly Marxist Mengistu, whose Dergue regime presided over political terror, brutal social engineering, exacerbated internal revolt in Eritrea, and the worst drought in a century. From the 1980s, and particularly with the end of the Cold War, there was an expansion of people power — populations became more politically conscious and less tolerant of abuse, while states weakened by economic catastrophe were less able to exercise absolute control. Yet the situation remained ambiguous: while international pressure increased on old authoritarianisms, many proved adaptable and robust, and key international actors — the US, UK, France, and increasingly China — continued to support them, tacitly or otherwise, as providing regional stability or simply as business partners unburdened by demands for political reform.