The State of Democracy in West Africa: Will its recent past determine the region's future?

This chapter is an excerpt from our State of Democracy in Africa 2024 Report

By Nneka Okechukwu

2024 has been quite a tumultuous year for West Africa. Following a spate of coup d’etats across the continent since 2020 (six of these taking place in four countries from the sub-region), the military governments of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced their ‘immediate withdrawal’ from the regional economic community, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). This move, which was a further escalation of the increasingly antagonistic rhetoric between ECOWAS and these states, caused the bloc leadership to back down from their threat to militarily intervene in Niger in order to reinstall the overthrown civilian government. Nevertheless, the three countries have gone ahead with their plans to establish their Alliance des États du Sahel or Alliance of Sahel States (AES/ASS).

Read the West Africa chapter here.

Read the full report here.