Ende Juli 2023 sorgte der Militärputsch im westafrikanischen Niger international für Schlagzeilen. Als Reaktion auf den Staatsstreich beschloss die Regionalorganisation ECOWAS, der alle 15 westafrikanischen Staaten angehören, nicht nur Wirtschaftssanktionen, sondern drohte auch mit militärischer Intervention, sollten die Putschisten die verfassungsmäßige Ordnung nicht unmittelbar wiederherstellen. Warum aber konnten im Niger Demokratie und Verfassungsordnung von den regionalen Akteuren nicht mit friedlichen Mitteln effektiv verteidigt werden? Christof Hartmann lotet im Fokus auf diese Frage die Grenzen des "regional democracy engineering" aus.

Elections are often the trigger for widespread violence, especially in new or less consolidated democracies. This also holds true for Sierra Leone where upcoming elections carry significant escalatory risks due to political polarisation and the presence of a large number of violent actors affiliated with the established political parties.

Côte d‘Ivoire has completed another electoral cycle with the recent parliamentary elections. The polls followed the controversial presidential election on 31 October 2020, when incumbent President Alassane Ouattara was confirmed for a third term despite oppositional boycotts and civil society protests. The opposition leaders’ attempt to declare a transitional government the day after the election and their refusal to recognize the president’s legitimacy resulted in some of them being arrested. Their calls for popular resistance or even armed rebellion did not result in substantial mobilization, and by the end of the year, the boycott campaign came to an end. For the first time since 2010, all political parties signalled their willingness to participate in the parliamentary elections, including the supporters of former President Laurent Gbagbo.