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This had become a familiar scene in West Africa. A group of soldiers appeared on state television benin on Sunday to claim that they have seized power. A few hours later, the President announced that the coup had been foiled.
Just two weeks earlier, troops seized power in another West African country, Guinea-Bissau, after a close presidential election.
Since 2020, nine countries in Africa have experienced coups. Here’s why some nations on the continent are prone to military takeovers.
increasing complaints
According to Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at Control Risks Group consulting firm, recent coups in Africa reflect deepening socio-economic grievances, weak institutions and the frustration of civilian governments in dealing with security crises.
“In many West African countries, where militaries remain deeply involved in daily politics, crises such as insurgencies and persistent socioeconomic grievances often force soldiers to step in when they feel civilian leaders are failing to respond effectively,” Ochieng said.
It’s not just in West Africa. In October, military leaders took power on the southern African island of Madagascar after youth-led protests demanding the resignation of President Andrés Rajoelina. He later fled the country while Parliament voted for his impeachment.
In 2023, troops in the oil-rich Central African country Gabon overthrow long-time president Ali Bongo Shortly afterwards he was declared the election winner. Bongo’s cousin, coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema, took power and was declared the winner of the presidential election in April.
In Chad, army general Mahamat Idriss Deby seized power following the death of his father in April 2021, extending his family’s three-decade rule of the Central African nation.
In September 2021, a group of soldiers in Guinea led by Mamadi Doumbouya ousted President Alpha Conde, who had amended the constitution to seek a third term. Doumbouya is running in December’s presidential election after junta members were allowed to run following a referendum this year.
In Sudan, the military led a coup in October 2021 and ousted General Abdel-Fattah Burhan. Omar al-BashirWho ruled for 26 years.
Military leaders have also taken power by force in Mali in 2020 and 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in 2023. Despite promising to provide greater protection to civilians, three countries in the arid Sahel region have been plagued by extremist attacks.
Coups more likely in former French colonies
Excluding Sudan, a former British Coup d’états in Africa in recent years have occurred in former French colonies.
Bakary Sambé, head of the Senegal-based Timbuktu Institute, said the prevalence of coups in Francophone Africa can be largely explained by the countries’ political systems – heavily influenced by France, with strong presidential powers – and economic dependence on France after independence.
“Add to this a weak regime marked by corruption and an inability to deal with jihadist threats in the Sahel, and you have fertile ground for armies setting themselves up as ‘saviors,'” Sambé said.
He said, “On the other hand, post-colonial Anglophone institutions, influenced by the more decentralized British model, have promoted more stable democratic transitions with diversified economies and less external monetary control.”
Ochieng said that the role of the military in politics also varies among many former French colonies and former British colonies.
He said, “In many Anglophone African countries, the military, executive and judiciary are more clearly separated, and the separation of powers means they co-exist rather than overlapping in a way that blurs authority or creates confusion about who is in charge.”