THE PECULIARITY OF THE NIGÉRIEN COUP AMONG THE MILITARY JUNTAS IN THE SAHEL (2020-2023): A WEB OF VESTED INTERESTS

Abstract

This study focuses on the peculiarity of the latest Niger military coup following the alreadyestablished military governments, first in Mali, then in Guinea and Burkina Faso within theWest African region. All these states are Francophone amid their Anglophone counterparts.Before 26 July, 2023 Nigerien coup, the experiences of other states put together had notdegenerated into a political threat in the eyes of the ECOWAS, the regional bloc, and/orNigeria which is the biggest democracy in the sub-Sahara. What had heated the polity acrossthe globe immediately after the military took over in Niger, forms the basis of this study. Thesecondary method of data collection is optimally explored for this paper. This researcheradopts the Interventionist Theory by S.E. Finer to explain the developments that have led tothe military takeovers in the affected states. While using qualitative analysis to criticallyexamine both internal and external factors outside ECOWAS which have made the Nigeriensituation more strategic compared to its other sister states. The recommendation is that allthe democracy sympathizers should be proactive and less selective in addressing theinstitutional coups; the failure causes a military junta.