West Africa And The Recurrence Of Coups

2024

Three fragile countries in West Africa; Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso succumbed to instability and experienced military takeovers out of the 15 Economic Community of West Africa State (ECOWAS) member states, these countries have since experienced a resurgence of coups and the overthrow of democratically elected leaders for one reason or the other. The general objective of this study is to review the remote and immediate causes of these military interventions and its implications for democratic consolidation in the West African sub-region. Qualitatively driven with reliance on the secondary sources of data, it employed content analysis to examine the diverse issues raised in the study. The study discovered that these coups was preceded by months of nonviolent protests arising from poor governance, challenges of insecurity, utter disregard for the rule of law, endemic poverty, rising unemployment amongst the youths of these countries, pervasive corruption among others. The study recommended among other things; that engendering good governance, respect for constitutional order and rule of law, development of infrastructure and a genuine attempt at building virile and strong institutions are the most sustainable way of keeping the military confined to the barracks.

Reseach Gate, 2022

Overall, Africa has experienced more coups than any other continent and now making a comeback in West and Central Africa military takeovers in Mali, Chad, Burkina and Guinea, by US Army trained officers as well as further east in Sudan. An attempt was just foiled in Guinea-Bissau (2/2/2022). Millions of refugees and IDPs, proportionately the largest number in developing countries are in Africa. The forces of lawlessness, mercenaries, petty arms traders, narco-traffickers and smugglers have descended on African countries in conflict, fanning the flames of war, and profiteering from the destruction of the lives of children. The state-sponsored plunder of colonialism has been replaced by the privatisation of plunder and exploitation! The inquiry focuses on the history of unconstitutional change of government in Africa and the requisite foundations for the implementation of the ACDEG? The multiple coups d’états have led to growing regional instability. Overthrowing the ‘elected’ government opened up a power vacuum that violent extremist groups exploited. All coup d’états were preceded by months of nonviolent protests by civil society, which, had led to democratic, but fleeting, change. Regional efforts to stabilise African countries have focused too much on security, neglecting decades of state failure. The regional bodies in Africa have tried to intervene between protesters and governments, but these crises have exposed the challenge of fostering democratic norms beyond elections. Africans demand for change remains far from fulfilled, whose current leaders remain a symbol of corruption and inaction, of ongoing instability, and of the lack of human development and failures of governance that has led to huge losses of life leading to disenchantment and objective conditions for coups. Armies cannot carry out a coup without popular discontent. Coups can be prevented by altering incentives as the networks that typically support coups are usually based on bonds of ethnicity and patronage ties that rise above loyalty to a fragile state. Key word: coup d’état, malgovernance, poverty, unemployment, corruption, democracy, The objectives of the ACDEG Charter are to promote adherence, by each State Party, to the universal values and principles of democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law premised upon the respect for, and the supremacy of, the Constitution and holding of regular free and fair elections and institutionalise legitimate authority of representative governments. ACDEG, 2000

The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies

After independence in the 1960s, most West African countries began their state governance with democracies and political liberalization. However, military coups swept across the sub-region in the same period as citizen agitations, and the military's thirst for power called for them. The event of coup since then became contagious as an external factor influencing state domestic politics. In that regard, the occurrence of coups in one West African state influenced the execution of the same in neighbouring states, as the Nigeria-Burkina Faso-Ghana 1966 coups confirm. With the phenomenon becoming a political behaviour as people openly called for them in times of economic hardships, coups have become a menace than a panacea to human security in the sub-region. Women and children continue to suffer violations and the constant abuse of their rights. Killings have become rampant and a part of military juntas putting lives in the subregion in fear and jeopardy. With people fleeing milit...

2023

Coup in Africa is rising and threatens consolidation of its bourgeoning democracy when viewed from the strategic geo-social, political and economic standpoints of francophone West Africa. Whereas, the 1990s have been the most significant years in the political history of African states since they became independent. Nearly all countries in sub Saharan Africa have been hit with the third wave of democratization with an unprecedented transformation from autocratic regimes to democratic governance (Jozana, 1999). It would be recalled that the first 30 years after Africa had emerged from colonial rule were marked by the specter of one-party states, “presidents for life,” and violent usurpations of power either through assassination or military coups as well as personalization of power, repression of human rights, and predatory and rent-seeking leaders became the grim orders of the day (Leon, 2010). This study therefore seeks to analyse, review and assess the trajectories of African states toward, or away, from increased institutionalization of democratic processes and practices, and to examine the lopsidedness and the paradox surrounding democracy as the best form of government over authoritarian regimes. The study will also consider the timeframe during which the democratic states incurred a higher concentration of these political calamities, and delimitation bearing in mind that African states including the scope of study have witnessed coups before, during and after their nascent democracies and may again occur after the period under study. It is worthy of note that the study will set in motion, a wakeup call and prod to African democratic states to rise up against the occasion of “coup trap”, pseudo-democracy, underdevelopment and economic backwardness that wedged the continent with the oft-used moniker “rich people poor continent”–which can be made possible mainly with genuine and committed leadership.

Jurnal Politik indonesia (Indonesian Journal of Politics), 2024

Since the late 1980s, with no choice, there has been a strong wave of democracy and democratization in the continent with most of African countries beginning to move away from one-party or military dictatorships to multiparty democratic rule. There have been coup d'états on the African continent since the 1960s. However, the aim of this research is to examine the recent resurgence and growth of coups which is contrary to the consolidation and stability of democracy in Africa. It seeks to present the main trajectory of military coup d' etats in sub-Saharan Africa focusing on its implication to democratic stability in the region. To achieve this, researchers engage a qualitative research method with in-depth assessment of coups and their impact on the growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The results of this research show that recent military takeovers have brought attention to a troubling trend in African politics: a rise in the use of unconstitutional methods to change governments. Military coups are to certain extent direct responses to citizens' complaints considering bad governance, deteriorating citizens' living conditions, and rising levels of insecurity. This research, therefore, concludes that military coups expose sub-Saharan African to human rights violations. Due to these unpleasant conditions of sub-Saharan polity, men in uniform align to the view that it is through coups that they can oust out this civilian governments that have mutilated constitutions to allow them to rule their countries without term limit.

International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education

This article contends that, Central African Republic (CAR) is a tinderbox of political instability due to the perennial problem of coups in the country. With this in mind, the research was motivated by the desire to answer the following questions: What characterises the coups in CAR? Why is Central Africa a theatre of coups? Who are the key players in the country and what can be done to bring back the legacy of statehood that CAR has lost? In an attempt to answer these questions, this study made use of published and unpublished material, key informant interviews and interviews by various regional and international news channels. While the study focused on the occurrences of coups in CAR, it made references to related experiences in Africa and the rest of the world. Additionally, the study kept in mind the time frame during which the state incurred a higher concentration of this political calamities, the study was not strict on this delimitation considering that the country as well as other African states have witnessed coups before, during and may continue to, after the period under study. The content analysis on this study obtained that the unconstitutional change of governments in CAR are profoundly a result of the continued existence of rebel groups in the country; the prevalence of the culture of political intolerance; the challenges of a massive population of Internally Displaced Population (IDPs); the government setup; the colonial legacy left across all Francophone countries in Africa; the geopolitical complexities in the region and the development of the threat of Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Africa and the rest of the world. To that end, the research recommends that there be enhanced efforts to strengthen the military in CAR; intensified effort towards thwarting local and regional militants; enhanced efforts to demilitarise and demobilise various armed groups in the country; build strong government institutions; promote democratic practices starting with the holding of free, fair and credible elections as well as fight religious intolerance among other recommendations.

EJMSS, 2024

In recent years, Africa has witnessed a troubling resurgence of coups d'état, raising questions about the efficacy of modern democracy on the continent. This study looks into the complexities of this phenomenon, exploring whether democracy in Africa is a failure or success in the face of these challenges. The resurgence of coups d'état in Africa has sparked a contentious debate regarding the trajectory of modern democracy on the continent. External influences, ranging from geopolitical rivalries to foreign interventions, shape the political landscape and exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in analyzing the impact of coups on democratic institutions, civil liberties, and socioeconomic development. While some argue that coups represent a failure of democracy, others contend that they serve as corrective mechanisms in response to governance failures and entrenched elites. However, the erosion of democratic norms and the consolidation of power by military juntas often result in human rights abuses, economic stagnation, and political instability as seen in the recent coups in Mali, Sudan, and Guinea. The role of regional organizations, such as the African Union and ECOWAS, in promoting democratic norms is a determinant to the failure or success of modern democracy. The methodology of research is mainly qualitative gotten from secondary sources of data. The question remains whether the resurgence of coups signifies a systemic failure of modern democracy in Africa or reflects a temporary setback in its evolution. The study recommends that African political leaders and the international community should resist strongly issues of resurgence of military coups in Africa.

2024

This study examines the resurgence of military coup d'état in the African Union. Over the past three years, there has been a wave of military coups d'état in Africa's Sahel region, from Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean to Sudan on the Red Sea. Two of these coups have occurred in Mali and Burkina Faso, others have occurred in Guinea, Sudan, Niger and Gabon. Putschists have cited corruption, weak governance, economic mismanagement, dissatisfaction with government's handling of insurgency and violent extremism as reasons for political change. These factors are not peculiar to these countries alone but are challenges inherent in African States. This trend has increased concerns in the African Union that these coups could have contagion effect on other countries. The method of Data collection and analysis was built on qualitative descriptive approach, sourcing data from secondary sources. The study also explored the conflict and contagion theory in explaining the problem investigated. The paper concludes that the rise of military coup in the African Union is a threat to the organization and the stability of the African continent, the changing dynamics of these coups suggests that the demonstration effects of "successful" coups in the region may increase the likelihood of further coups. The study therefore recommends that issues of leadership, governance, respect for the rule of law and security must be addressed for democracy to thrive in the African Union.

This paper examined the political undercurrents of the re-emergence of military intervention in African politics. The objective of this paper is to ascertain the theoretical and empirical connection of this emerging phenomenon. Situated within the context of political modernization philosophy, we posit that the military appropriated its central command structure, differentiation, and specialization as well as popular identification in diverse ways as part of their strategies to control political power. Empirically, we draw mainly on textual data collected through remote research methods such as desk research and distant observation. The analysis is informed by the emerging political analysis of recent military coup d'état epidemics across Africa-Chad, Sudan, Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso. The main focus of our analysis is the supposition that, Africa's emerging democracy is under threat to fluff and flounder. This paper argues that stakeholders in a democracy need to act proactively to structurally address the putative democratic deficits that are eroding the dividends of democracy and its cardinal principles in Africa.