People often talk about the Russian-Ukrainian war, China’s aggression in Asia, and Israel’s continued occupation of Gaza, no one is asking about a region of 400 million people and a combined economy of $US700 billion in GDP. I am, of course, referring to West Africa and its version of the EU: ECOWAS.
The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, was created in 1975, made up of 15 West African states, with the aim of promoting regional stability, self-reliance, economic integration, and democratic norms, and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year (TLDR News Global). However, the block is facing continued fragmentation.
On the 9th of December, Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS commission, declared that the region is in “a state of emergency” (Washington Post). This was in response to an attempted coup in Benin on the 7th of December, which the Benin government quickly thwarted with loyal government troops and aid from neighbouring allies such as Nigeria and Ghana. Speaking on a live evening broadcast, the President of Benin, Patrice Talon, declared the situation to be “totally under control” and commended the army and its leaders who “remained loyal… to the nation” (BBC).
This is the most recent in a string of military coups that have rocked Western African nations since 2020. Continued attacks by terrorist organisations in the Sahel, like the JLIM and the Islamic State, in addition to increasing anti-Western sentiment and poor governance, resulted in successful and successive military coups in Mali and Guinea in 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022, Niger in 2023, and Guinea-Bissau in 2025 (TLDR News Global). Most of these nations are part of ECOWAS, which has often taken a hardline stance against military coup-d’états. As such, the bloc suspended the memberships of countries such as Guinea and Guinea-Bissau until the junta restores democratic governance.
However, ECOWAS’s inconsistent responses to coup attempts have led experts to believe this was an attempt to regain credibility (Associated Press). Their threat to intervene against Niger’s military junta in 2023 amounted to nothing beyond sanctions and rhetoric. As a result, the landlocked Sahel states Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all of which had their membership of ECOWAS suspended, left the organisation to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) (Le Monde).
The withdrawal of AES members from ECOWAS was a blow to its push for greater regional integration and stability. The AES continues to face increasingly sophisticated attacks by the JLIM and Islamic State-affiliated terrorist groups, while ECOWAS struggles with maintaining its democratic legitimacy and a potential extremist threat to its northeastern borders (TLDR News Global). Although there are measures to further bind the nations in ECOWAS together through a common currency, the Eco, continued political, cultural, and economic differences have delayed the project until 2027 (ModernDiplomacy).
Despite the hostilities between the AES and ECOWAS, economic integration and political cooperation as means of practicality and mutual benefit continued between the nations of both alliances. Furthermore, multiple ECOWAS states had softened their stance and pushed for re-engagement with the AES nations. This undermines the unified hardline approach taken by ECOWAS against military coups and democratic governance, further eroding bloc cohesion, credibility, and legitimacy (Institute of Security Studies). Although conflict between the AES and ECOWAS seems unlikely, the ongoing trend of military coups and disunity among ECOWAS members does not bode well for the bloc’s unity. Only time will tell whether ECOWAS will survive to see its 100th anniversary.
Featured Image: Ted Sherarts on Flickr