Why ex-French colonies in Africa seem beset by coups

Political instability in West Africa's former French colonies has seen a blight of military takeovers. Since 2020, anti-French sentiments seem to have, or at least contributed to, triggering coups in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and most recently Niger.

Senegalese human rights lawyer, Ibrahima Kane, of the Open Society Foundation, told DW that sentiments seeking a break-away from perceived French influence are real.

"The perception that the French have about our citizens has never changed. They always consider us second-class citizens. They always treat Africans, particularly Francophone Africans, in a certain way. And West Africa wants that situation to change," he said.

But African affairs analyst, Emmanuel Bensah, who specialises on regional bloc ECOWAS, told DW that anti-colonial sentiments do not fully explain recent coups in the region. 

"There has been a colonial issue with the French and British in West Africa. But that has not meant that each of the member states are taking up to arms with soldiers. You will see the Anglophone countries haven't picked up arms and yet we are in the same sub-region," he said.

Losing hope in democracy

Unlike Anglophone Africa, which currently has a comparatively stable political climate, Western-style democracy has not gained solid footing in Francophone West Africa.

"There is a feeling in Francophone African countries that the French always sided with the people in power, regardless of whether they were popular. There is always a very strong connection between France and the government who, in many situations, are not very friendly with their own population," Ibrahima Kane said.

He adds that the same anger is being directed at France-supported, democratically elected governments that enable military interventions.

In Niger, thousands rallied to support the military junta that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum, echoing discontent for democratically-elected governments.

Nigerian governance analyst, Ovigwe Eguegu, says elected leaders in former French colonies have done little to improve citizens' lives.

"That's why you have these populist coups. These are populist coups, we have to be frank," he told DW.

For Eguegu, if people do not see the benefits of a democratically elected government, then there would be very little support for them in times of crisis.

"Why should they just engage in the exercise of voting and nothing changes? For them, the [coups] are seen as a way to shock the system to see if that could lead to a much better outcome," he said, although Eguegu conceded that military leadership has rarely improved the situation.

Bram Posthumus, an independent journalist reporting on West Africa, puts it more directly: 

"One of the things these coups in succession demonstrate is the quite clear notion that the experiment with Western-style democracy in the Sahel, at least, has been a complete failure," he told DW.

But in some instances infighting among the ruling political class has triggered these coups. Days before his overthrow, Niger's ousted president Bazoum was reportedly planning to sack the current coup leader.

Disagreements between soldiers in Burkina Faso also triggered a second coup after the military ousted President Roch Kabore in a 2022 coup. 

Endemic poverty

Some experts have also blamed the recent coups on endemic poverty in many former French colonies.

It was only in 2020 that the much-awaited bill to ratify the end of the CFA franc, a West African currency controlled by the French treasury, was adopted. It has taken 75 years for that to happen.

France has been accused of exploiting natural resources of these countries while struggling to address the daily economic problems of citizens.

Posthumus said with such growing frustrations, citizens often lose trust and patience for democratic processes.

"Democracy didn't address any of the basic problems people had, be it violence, be it poverty and lack of economic opportunity. And these juntas are very adept at making people believe that they will solve these problems. They will not," he said.
Ineffective civil society and media

Emmanuel Bensah's concern though is that Francophone Africa is yet to fully develop resilient governance systems and institutions to resolve developmental challenges. 

"If you look at the countries Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, no matter how poor they may be, there's a civil society actively working on the ground together with a vibrant media that seeks to hold at least the duty bearers accountable," he said. 

Bensah said Anglophone Africa was making tremendous advances in amplifying different voices, which is lacking in Francophone Africa.

"The challenge has always been because, for the longest time, a lot of things were dictated by France, which did not allow for room for local civil society to grow," he said.

Insecurity in the Sahel

The continued deterioration of security in most former French colonies in Africa has also fueled recent coups in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, and Mali. The Sahel region has been engulfed with  insurgencies since 2012, starting in Mali.

It spread to Burkina Faso and Niger in 2015 and now states on the Gulf of Guinea are suffering sporadic attacks.

According to the United Nations, the rising insecurity in the Sahel poses a "global threat" as the humanitarian situation there worsens with thousands of people fleeing.

Western countries, including France, have unsuccessfully tried to address insecurity in the region. In Mali and Burkina Faso, their military missions have been asked to leave. 

ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, is under pressure to stem the tide of coups. But its response has normally involved imposing sanctions.

Reforming ECOWAS

The bloc's recent decision to activate a standby force for a potential military intervention in Niger has divided regional governments and is problematic for analysts like Eguegu.

"ECOWAS would need to actually redesign its playbook when it comes to dealing with unconstitutional change in government."
Bensah adds that the bloc should rather help former French colonies strengthen their democratic institutions.

"They [Francophone West Africa] need to identify which civil society organizations they need to start talking to and then invite them to start building the capacity," he said.

Isaac Kaledzi is a DW journalist. 

Disclaimer: This article first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and is published by special syndication arrangement.