Military coups in West Africa and the Sahel as impediments towards the achievement of the African Union-Agenda 2063, Aspirations (3) and (4)

Abstract

In an attempt to transform Africa into a global powerhouse of the future, the African Union (AU) championed Agenda 2063, which serves as Africa’s developmental blueprint towards achieving inclusive and equitable socio-economic development over 50 years. However, close to 10 years after its implementation, Africa is still battling with challenges such as a resurgence of military coups and Unconstitutional Changes of Government (UCG). Recently, these military coups occurred mainly in West Africa and the Sahel regions. Although AU-Agenda 2063 is founded on seven Aspirations, this chapter will focus on Aspiration 3 (good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice, and the rule of law) and Aspiration 4 (a peaceful and secure Africa). Findings are that the resurgence of military coups in West Africa and the Sahel are hindrances towards attaining AU-Agenda 2063 Aspirations 3 and 4. Instead of these states consolidating their democracies and adhering to the rule of law, they experienced democratic reversals and the rise of authoritarianism. Ultimately, this impedes Aspirations 3 and 4 of the AU. Thus, instead of silencing the guns by 2030, 124Security-Development Nexus in Africa the military has turned these guns against their own states. Furthermore, demerits of military rule include the suppression of human rights, limited opposition, and lack of capacity to address the many pre-coups socio-economic challenges which pose security threats in both regions. This qualitative literature assessment will adopt content analysis to produce the study findings. This chapter intends to respond to three related objectives: (i) to explore the root causes of military coups in West Africa and the Sahel, (ii) to examine how military coups in these regions serve as impediments towards the achievement of the AU-Agenda 2063 Aspirations (3) and (4), and (iii) to evaluate the AU’s response to these coups d’état and UCGs.