International Journal of Arts and Humanities

Regional Organizations and Combating Coups: Is African Union Getting it Right?

Abstract: Recent years have witnessed increasing military coups in African countries with Niger being the latest victim and the Africa Union (AU) responded by suspending the country. This article sought to explore whether the regional organizations intervention strategies are effective in deterring further coups. We observe in literature the AU’s efforts are evident through its short-term strategies, but it is interesting to see whether there will be newer strategies. In many of the recent coups, military leaders have claimed to have intervened to ‘save democracy’, typically by removing presidents who did not adhere to term limits from power. This article suggests that the growing military coups in the region demand unique approaches that look beyond just membership suspension and sanctions but strategies that focus on structural issues.

Keywords: Coup, regional organization, military