RESURGENCE OF MILITARY COUPS IN AFRICA: CAN THE AFRICAN UNION AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS DEFEND AND CONSOLIDATE DEMOCRACY?

Abstract

Since the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) transformed into the African Union (AU), the continental body has abandoned the non-interventionist tenet in favor of non-indifference. It also adopted the Unconstitutional Changes of Government (UCG) framework as well as other measures to protect and strengthen democracy. The UCG and other current frameworks are challenged by the recent uptick in military coups and coup attempts, which also shows a democratic backsliding and poses a significant danger to the consolidation of democracy in Africa. Since achieving independence, the African continent has been consistently afflicted by instances of coups and attempted coups. Contrary to popular opinion, the return of coups over the last ten years suggests that enhanced democratic practices do not always result in fewer instances of coups or coup attempts. Even while the AU and other regional organizations in Africa are politically determined not to reward military governments or those that have emerged from extra-constitutional arrangements by allowing them to join the community of nations, the plague persists. This essay examines the application of the AU’s methodology for using UCG together with other metrics. It also makes an effort to provide other hypotheses for the recurrence of this phenomenon. The study suggests that it is time for the AU to properly apply its UCG strategy outside of coup events to successfully preserve and consolidate democracy. The AU has to have the guts to investigate what leads to these illegitimate coups and pay more attention to the rising danger to democracy in Africa.