Assessing the AU’S Post-2020 Responses to the Military Coup D'etat's in AU Member States
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Date
2022-12
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AAU
Abstract
Conferring the form of military coup d'états, the sudden overthrow of incumbents post-2020 in Africa has come to be called an epidemic. In the years following 2020, African states have had five successful coups and two failed coups in seven member countries. which is equal to the total number of coups in the ten years prior, from 2010 to 2019. Also, surprisingly compared, is the number of coups that occurred in Africa between the middle of the 1970s and the middle of the 1980s, when authoritarian regimes were the norm.
It is possible to witness that, the AU's normative framework on military coup d’Etat is faced with legal and practical challenges, and that Africa’s quest for democratic power transfer is at a crossroads with the resurgence of military coups. The normative and practical challenges of the AU norms against military coups entail the destabilization of the continent at large and impede the progress of the continent towards the achievement of the 2063 agenda of achieving sustainable economic development and a peaceful and democratized continent.
The objective of the research thesis is to assess the AU’s post-2020 responses to the military coup d’états in AU member states. Assessing the AU’s responses to military coups has paramount importance in determining the strength and weaknesses of the system, and rectifying the gaps in the implementation of the norms. Against this background, the research thesis employs case and legal analysis with an extended literature review method.
After profound analysis and assessment of the AU responses to the military coups, the thesis explains why and argues that the AU responses to military coups were inconsistent, self-contradictory, lacking guidance on the causes of military coups, and selective. Most importantly, the AU peace and security organs are grappling with a lack of logistics, expertise, guidelines, and finances to prevent military coups. Further, the PSC protocol falls short of connecting with the norms of UCG and particularly military coups and the underlying factors.