The continent has recently seen a sharp rise of coups especially in Niamey Niger, Khartoum Sudan and Bamako Mali. This is rather worrisome considering most African countries’ progress in achieving stable political systems in the past couple of decades. The current state of affairs for instance in Niger which has recently been subjected to a military coup is symptomatic of structural problems that have revived militarism in the region. These changes have brought focus internationally, controversies have arisen over political turbulence, insecurity in the region, and foreign players namely Russia and France.
The Coup in Niger: What Happened?
July 2023 is the time when Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by the members of the military and thus the country faced political crisis. The coup was spearheaded by the Presidential Guard under the pretext of irregularities in the management of the government, and insecurity in the country. Niger, a country that repeatedly suffered from the attacks of Boko Haram and ISIS armed formations, is considered one of the main partners in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel zone. Nevertheless, the continuing experience of economic difficulty, corruption, and decline in the security environment provoked dissatisfaction within the military and resulted in a coup.
General Kountche’s coup in Niger is not an isolated event in the contemporary history of West and, in general, Central Africa. For instance, Mali and Burkina Faso both of which are neighbouring nations have had their governments overthrown by military coup in recent past. The feature shared in all these coups is discontent with civilian authorities regarded as incapable of handling security and economic problems.
External Influences and the Role of Global Powers:
It is worth to note that analysis of the modern military coups in Africa can not be complete without reference to the interference of extra-regional actors. Political and military powers of the Rusky and Frantzy have a great impact in this region.S För instance Rusky possesses a very influential post in this region while Frantzy is a powerful member of NATO and has military bases in the region. Russia influence especially through the Wagner Group has been ringing through some African countries such as Mali and the Central Africa Republic. Presence of the Russian mercenaries and backing of military administrations also has led to the redesigned power relations, more often than not to the detriment of democracy.
Paris has always maintained a significant influence in its one-time colonies and has of late received resentment from the heads of states as well as the citizens of African nations. In Niger there has been a growing hostility against the French some of which regarded the coup as an anti-French move. Such sentiments are typical for the entire Sahel region where the local population is gradually becoming more critical towards the WEST involvement and is seeking the support of other powers like Russia.
Implications for Regional Stability:
The instances include the military takeover in Niger and more so, the coups that have been observed in Africa. The Sahel is already one of the world’s most insecure areas: jihadists’ insurgencies, poverty and political fragmentation. The emergence of military rule portends the aggravation of these problems and creates an objective threat to the formation of a stable policy in favor of the peace and development of the country.
The AU (African Union) and the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) have denounced these coup d’états and have even, in some instances, applied embargoes. However, the efficacy of these measures remains doubtful, because military originates rarely responds to external pressure. This is because the future occurrence of similar challenges has also raised alarm that other countries may also stage crises like that of Niger, hence causing the culture of one after the other to affect the region’s stability.
Conclusion: A Challenging Road Ahead
The return of military rule in Africa beginning with the current event in Niger is a great set back to the democracy of the region. These are internal forces and they include corruption, insecurity and poor governance in tandem with the external forces from the global powers that give political instabilities their push to flourish. While the global actors try to decide on an adequate reaction, it becomes obvious that solving these problems can be done solely by applying political and development perspectives on the situation.
The case of Niger is one of the typical examples that demonstrate that the process of developing stable governance in Africa is quite peripatetic. If the underlying grievances that fuel-some soldiers and the public – such as inequality, joblessness, poor governance, corruption, and external interference – are not addressed, then more coups and political turbulence will continue to feature in Africa’s outlook, which has made stunning although fragile democratic advances in the past few decades.
if you have any doubts, Please let me know.