Supporters of the military junta wave Nigerien and Russian flags at a demonstration of support for the coup.
EPA-EFE/Issifou Djibo
All eyes are on Nigeria where west African countries are discussing the possibility of military intervention to reverse the coup.
Coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani appearing on Niger state television to announce the takeover.
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
The coup in Niger has the potential to further destabilise the whole of west Africa.
Niger’s Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani declares himself head of state on 28 July 2023.
ORTN-Télé Sahel/AFP via Getty Images
Ethnic politics, the presence of foreign troops and the weaknesses of past responses to coups encouraged Niger’s recent military takeover.
Effective African economic development depends on economic integration and free movement of people.
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Immigration policy is so highly politicised that the South African government seems afraid to move.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, new ECOWAS chairman.
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The new ECOWAS chairman must focus on strengthening democracy and security in west Africa.
From left; Prime Minister of Cote d'Ivoire Patrick Achi, President of Togo Faure Gnassingbe, President of Benin Patrice Talon, and President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo.
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Africa has been relatively peaceful in terms of inter-state violent conflicts.
Small arms and light weapons recovered from bandits in Jos, north central Nigeria.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
A lack of political legitimacy can lead governments to illegal purchases of small arms and light weapons.
A small group of protesters holds Russia and Burkina flags as they protest against the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
Although West Africa has made some headway with efforts to propagate democracy, its dividends, in the form of good governance, remain elusive.
A protest against human trafficking in Lagos.
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Human trafficking has become a global concern. Nigeria’s efforts at reintegrating survivors into society have been largely unsuccessful.
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo (R) during Macron’s visit in July 2022.
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Macron’s recent visits to Africa tell a story in which France is doing penance for its colonial crimes while trying to maintain influence gained through colonialism.
ECOWAS struggles with ensuring mobility within its region.
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Rules to regulate the free movement of people in the ECOWAS countries must be adapted to local realities.
The opening ceremony of an African Union session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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The Panel of the Wise shows promise but more needs to be done to turn it into a proactive pillar of Africa’s peace and security system.
The border crossing into Togo from Benin is a busy route for citizens.
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African states and their development partners must protect ECOWAS regional integration efforts.
A G5 Sahel meeting on Burkina Faso and Mali.
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The creation of the G5 Sahel added to the traffic of security groupings in the region
Thousands of people have fled inter-ethnic clashes in northern Cameroon.
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The failures of nominally elected governments has denied leaders - as well as the democratic system - a vanguard popular constituency.
Former President Roch Marc Christian Kabore has been detained.
Koch / MSC/Wikimedia Commons
Africa saw more coup attempts in 2021 than the preceding five years combined.
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
Photo by John Macdougall/AFP via Getty Images
For about three decades, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta played different roles in Mali’s politics.
African countries are still fixated on individual economic interests.
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African countries are struggling to implement the African Union’s protocol on free movement four years after its ratification.
Colonel Assimi Goita has stepped back from undertakings that there would be a return to civilian rule soon.
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Rising tensions in West Africa heighten as the military junta in Mali engages Wagner, a Russian private military company while defying ECOWAS.
A man walks on rail track near the bauxite factory of Guinea’s largest mining firm, Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG), at Kamsar, north of the capital Conakry.
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Successive regimes in Guinea have used mining to maintain the status quo.