Africa Center for Strategic Studies

• The AU and the Challenge of Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa

  By Issaka Souare. Institute for Security Studies, 2009. African coups occasionally prompt upbeat assertions that, though unconstitutional, such actions may conveniently remove ineffective governments.  But standing African Union (AU) declarations protect constitutional governance in Africa, not effective governance.  To better protect both constitutional and effective governance, AU agreements should consider more specific guidance on executive term limits and institutional checks-and-balances. [PDF]

• Madagascar: Regional Path to Peace

  By Peter Kagwanja and Thomas Kimaru. Africa Policy Institute, 2009. Political polarization and an inability to sufficiently engage opposition views continue to plague mediation efforts following a 2009 military-backed coup d’état. To create a sustainable resolution, the African Union, neighboring states, and international actors should prioritize broad national reconciliation and security sector professionalism initiatives.  [PDF]

• The Theory of Collective Response

  The Theory of Collective Response. By Charles Sampford and Margaret Palmer. Lexington Books, 2005. [PDF] This opening chapter in a longer work chronicles the deficiencies in international law and international response to coups d’état in developing democracies. By recognizing the principle of "effective control" as opposed to "consent of the governed" as indicators of regime sovereignty and legitimacy, the international community and international law fail to discourage unconstitutional changes in government and anti-democratic behavior in developing countries. The authors propose practical options to influence and intervene when democracy is threatened in developing countries.

• The AU and the Challenge of Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa

  The AU and the Challenge of Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa. By Issaka Souare. Institute for Security Studies, 2009. [PDF] Several of the nine African coups that occurred since 2000 ousted undemocratic civilian regimes, prompting assertions that such unconstitutional actions may be an expedient option to remove ineffective or repressive governments. However, Souare contends that the core African Union (AU) documents regarding elections and governance aspire to establish and protect constitutional governance in Africa, not effective governance per se. But these AU documents are not without their shortcomings. New strategies to bind AU member states to limits on number and lengths of executive terms in office may improve efforts to prevent unconstitutional changes in government.

• Foreign Aid and Democratization: Benin and Niger Compared.

  Foreign Aid and Democratization: Benin and Niger Compared. By Mamoudou Gazibo. African Studies Review, 2005. Two West African states began the 1990s with newly formed democratic governments. By the close of the decade, Benin had further consolidated democracy while Niger experienced a series of destabilizing events culminating in a coup d’état. These differing trajectories are due largely to a sequence of key political reforms implemented in Benin that insured continued donor assistance and support, according to Gazibo. His analysis may provide lessons to avoid democratic setbacks in other African states. [HTML]

• Demilitarising the Political Process in Africa: Some Basic Issues.

  Demilitarising the Political Process in Africa: Some Basic Issues. By Eboe Hutchful. African Security Review, 1997. A classic piece in which Hutchful analyzes the history of political activity of Africa’s armed forces. Many African militaries have assumed a range of political roles since independence, and, consequently, transition to democratic control of the armed forces will likely be a long-term process that mere constitutional structures cannot guarantee. Rather, budgetary, institutional, training, and doctrinal devices will be needed to prevent military coups and political infringement in the short- and medium-term, Hutchful concludes. [HTML]

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