SUMMARY
Mauritania gained independence from French colonization in 1960 and had a presidential regime between 1960 and 1978. The first national president, Moktar Ould Daddah established an authoritarian one party system with the Mauritanian People’s Party in 1964. This remained stable until 1978, when Daddah was removed from power by a military coup led by the Chief of Staff, Colonel Mustapha Ould Salek. Motivation for the coup arose from the deteriorating economic and political conditions, largely resulting from conflict with POLISARIO, which had erupted in 1976. Dadah was replaced by a Military Committee for National Recovery (Comité Militaire de Redressement National, CMRN). Subsequently, the government signed a peace agreement with POLISARIO in 1979.
A military administration remained in power until 1984, when a bloodless coup enabled Colonel Maaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya to take over both the presidential and prime ministerial offices. Under Taya, a policy of Arabization was pursued within both the governmental and educational spheres. However, the government also reinstated a civilian administration with a multiparty system. Multiple presidential elections were subsequently won by Taya amidst allegations of fraud. During his tenure, racial violence erupted due to land disputes along the border with Senegal. The outbreak in violence also enabled the Government of Mauritania to target darker-skinned Mauritanians, mainly of Fulani ethnicity, with forced expulsions, arrests, torture and extra-judicial killings reported.
Another military coup occurred whilst Taya was out of the country in 2005. Constitutional reforms limiting the presidential terms of office to two consecutive five-year periods were voted upon and implemented prior to the first democratic elections being held in 2007. Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi emerged as president but disputes led to a further military coup in 2008. This was led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who was subsequently elected to office in July 2009.
As of 2017, Aziz and his party, Union for the Republic, have won all presidential and parliamentary elections since 2009.
Following a recruitment drive in 1975, the Government of Mauritania trebled its troop size to 6000, which doubled by the following year. Since then a full military force has been established with the army being the largest contingent by far. As of 2017 it has 16 000 troops. The government military force is also supplemented with a gendarmerie and a national guard of 5000-strong as of 2017.
Regionally, the Mauritanian Government has collaborated substantially with the Governments of Algeria, Mali and Niger against AQIM - an Islamist rebel group with a broad, transnational outlook - through joint operations and various forms of partnerships including a unified military command known as the Joint Operational Staff Committee. Internationally, it received support from France as well as the United States of America for various counter-terrorism initiatives against AQIM such as the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative/Partnership (TSCI/TSCP).
The Government also received military assistance from France during its conflict with POLISARIO in the form of military equipment, experts and instructors as well as establishing training facilities and improved communication systems.
