Sanctions reprieve for coup-hit African nations: Another message to the West?

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – The West African regional bloc has recently lifted sanctions imposed on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger, a sweeping change in its stance toward the four coup-hit countries.

Most of the sanctions imposed on these nations were lifted on “purely humanitarian grounds,” while some political ones and others targeting individuals will remain in place, Omar Alieu Touray, head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, said as he made the announcement in late February.

ECOWAS had imposed the sanctions after military coups in the countries between 2020 and 2023, as part of its pressure for their militaries to hand power back to civilians.

However, in January, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali said they were quitting the 15-member bloc, raising fears of a deeper political crisis in the region.

That, according to analysts, pushed ECOWAS to reconsider its position even though the countries did not meet the conditions laid out by the bloc.

Another key point in this scenario is the message that goes to Western powers that had backed the sanctions, Ladislas Ngendahimana, a Rwandan political analyst, told Anadolu.

This move underscores the West’s fading influence in the West African region because “those sanctions were dictated by Western countries, particularly France and allies,” he said.

“It signals that the concept of democracy imported from the West is dying in Africa,” he added.

However, he said it also indicates the bloc’s “incapacity.”

“Every political decision has both positive and negative implications. It shall be a matter of time to see them clearly. What is undoubtable is that ECOWAS has become ineffective and inefficient in dealing with the political and security situation in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger,” Ngendahimana asserted.

- Display of realpolitik

Harold Acemah, a political scientist based in Uganda’s capital Kampala, believes that ECOWAS is “caught between a rock and a hard place.”

“The decision ECOWAS took to reconsider its previous position is realpolitik,” he told Anadolu.

This will help the bloc save face as it appeared incapable and unable to enforce the ultimatum given to these countries, he said.

“The wise decision ECOWAS took to review its position is, in my opinion, a victory for diplomacy and the peaceful settlement of disputes,” said Acemah, a retired career diplomat.

“I believe ECOWAS should promote efforts to find a negotiated and peaceful political solution. There is no lasting military solution to political problems.”

With Africa plagued by festering military conflicts and political disputes, Acemah stressed the need for groups like ECOWAS, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), East African Community (EAC) and the African Union to “encourage, promote, seek and find lasting political solutions to internal and regional problems through diplomatic channels and peaceful negotiations.”

- ‘Better to negotiate being together rather than separate’

West Africa has been a particularly troubled region on the continent, facing everything from military takeovers to spiraling insecurity, with terrorist groups moving from Mali to other neighbors in the Sahel region.

There have been nine coups in West and Central Africa since 2020, where coup leaders faulted deposed governments for failing to provide security and good governance.

In Ngendahimana’s view, the ECOWAS decision to drop its sanctions could likely fuel the fire of military coups.

“The lifting of the sanctions could be construed as a green light to uncontrolled military coups and fan the ‘moral hazard’ syndrome,” he said.

“Also, the traditional concept of democracy is challenged, because the voice of the people would matter less than the military power.”

Going back to the three countries’ threat to exit ECOWAS, Ngendahimana said it compelled a strategic shift within the bloc, which would be averse to losing more nations, given the exit of founding member Mauritania in 2000.

“The decision to lift the sanctions was informed and guided by pragmatic imperatives to maintain the unity of ECOWAS member states,” he said.

“In unconditionally lifting the sanctions, ECOWAS wanted to persuade the countries to take back their decision to leave the bloc … In fact, politically, it is better to negotiate being together rather than separate.”​​​​​​​