West Africa’s security crisis exposes weakening democratic foundations
A conference in Abidjan is examining how coups, violent extremism, poverty and external rivalries are reshaping peace and security in West Africa. Writer Jibrin Ibrahim says the region’s central challenge is the breakdown of democratic accountability and the failure of governments to deliver security and welfare to citizens.
West Africa’s peace and security crisis is being examined at a conference in Abidjan, where participants are considering the region’s political transformation and its changing international environment. The conference was organised by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Writing from the meeting, Jibrin Ibrahim said the region’s difficulties were rooted in structural problems including widespread poverty, food insecurity, climate pressures and insurgencies involving violent extremist groups.
He linked the current phase of instability mainly to the rapid weakening of the democratic model that developed after 1990. Ibrahim cited coups in Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger and Guinea-Bissau as a direct challenge to the regional democratic order and to the future of the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS. The attempted coup in Benin, he said, intensified fears that instability could spread further.
Some military-led governments have formed the Association of Sahelian States and used opposition to French influence and claims of neo-colonialism as political mobilisation tools, according to Ibrahim. He also argued that the policies of the United States under President Donald Trump were deepening regional divisions. Ibrahim pointed to repeated attacks on Air Base 101 in Niamey as an example of the region’s overlapping security pressures.
He said Islamic State fighters attacked in January, al-Qaida-linked terrorists made an attempt in June, and Nigerien soldiers later attacked the base in an attempted coup. The base formerly hosted French and American troops and is connected to a major US drone facility, he wrote. He said West Africa had previously responded to authoritarian rule and conflict by restoring constitutional government, creating new parties and holding regular elections.
But later democratic governments failed to improve citizens’ livelihoods, while political elites weakened fair competition and democratic institutions. Ibrahim described the central struggle as one between political capture by ruling classes and citizens’ efforts to build inclusive democracy. Violent extremism has further damaged local economies, health services and education.
He said governments’ failure to provide security and welfare remained the core of the crisis.
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