Most scholarship on contemporary politics in the Maghreb has focused on actors and institutions such as political parties, social movements and heads of state. Very little has, however, focused on an institution that has played – and arguably continues to play - a crucial role in the politics of the region: the military. In Tunisia a former general has been President for the past twenty years having ousted and replaced a civilian figure. In Morocco military figures have twice narrowly failed to overthrow the ruling Monarchy through attempted coups d’états and continue to figure prominently in the Moroccan elite. In Algeria, the country’s senior military figures have effectively appointed and removed every president since the country’s achievement of independence with individual military officers actually assuming the presidency themselves for well over half of the period. This paper aims to look beneath these headline facts to examine the reality of the military’s political role in the contemporary Maghreb. Adopting a comparative approach looking at all three states, it will examine how the militaries of the states were constructed in the aftermath of the achievement of independence and how the varying contributions of former guerrilla fighters, exiles and former members of the European colonial armies contributed to shaping the different political roles the militaries would come to play in each state. All three states experienced attempted seizures of power by elements from within the military during the early decades after independence, the varying nature and impact of which will be analysed. The paper will also look at how the military in the three states sought to respond to the new challenges of social unrest and the rise of Islamist movements from the 1980s. Assessing the current state of play, the paper will conclude and show that although the military as a broader institution has been very influential, real influence and power rests with the state security apparatus in each state which although related to the military often counterbalances, rivals and ultimately prevails over the formal military. The paper will draw on a range of sources including existing published works, print media from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, together with interviews with relevant actors.