Khakistocracy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Khakistocracy is a portmanteau word

Portmanteau word

A portmanteau or portmanteau word is a blend of two words or morphemes into one new word. A portmanteau word typically combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings...

used to refer to the military rule

Military rule

Military rule may mean:* Militarism or militarist ideology - the ideology of government as best served when under military control* Military occupation, when a country or area is occupied after invasion.** List of military occupations...

of a country often in collusion with the elite and business classes. This is primarily done to garner support and to perpetuate the military regime. This has been observed in countries as diverse as Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

and North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

.

Khakistocracy refers to khakis, the tan-green camouflage colour used in most modern army uniforms. It may have originated as an ironic

Irony

Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...

pun

Pun

The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

from kakistocracy, which means government by a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens;

Usage

Helon Habila

Helon Habila is a Nigerian novelist and poet. He won the Caine Prize for African fiction in 2001, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2003....

, Nigerian author uses it to refer to the military despots of Nigeria in his first novel 'Waiting for an Angel', published in 2003.

The "khakistocracy," Habila's term for Sani Abacha and the other despots in olive drab who robbed Nigeria blind, finally stepped aside in 1999. Since then, Nigerians like Habila have started to come to grips with the recent past. "Waiting for an Angel," the 35-year-old Habila's first novel, is a heartfelt remembrance of those dark years and a passionate rebuke to the generals who tried to quash ordinary Nigerians' aspirations.

The term shows up again in a Nigerian context in 2005, in a letter by Ikhenemho Okomilo

October holds memorable significance in my diary. It’s of course time of year to reflect on the state of our national journey since independence, which many of us still regard with great patriotic zeal despite the fact that the elapsing 45 years of unparalleled khakistocracy has condemned Nigerians to seeming perpetual purposelessness, not minding the lumpish submission to an even firmer neo-colonial grip.

The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...

, an American rock band, use the term in their song "Intimate Secretary", from their 2006 album "Broken Boy Soldiers

Broken Boy Soldiers

Broken Boy Soldiers is the debut album of The Raconteurs, released on May 15, 2006 in the United Kingdom and May 16, 2006 in the United States. The album was generally favored among critics and spawned the #1 hit single "Steady, As She Goes"...

", although the intent may be different and refer to khaki

Khaki

This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...

pants, being used for poetic effect.

...Is this greeting the type that's meant for me?

Are you part of this khakistocracy...

(I've got a pen but I lost the top) Are you part of this khakistocracy?

(I've got so many things you haven't got) Is this greeting the type that's meant for me?

temporal, a Pakistani-Canadian writer, uses it in relation to Pakistan and the dictatorship by Musharraf, defining it as the 'Military-Industrial-Feudal Complex'.

MIF Khakistocracy: Military-Industrial-Feudal complex
Ike’s military-industrial-complex can be modified to include the feudal lords. This Military-Industrial-Feudal complex has continued to prosper at the expense of the ever dwindling middle and poor classes.

Usage

See also