What question did this study set out to answer?

The article aims to explore the causes of varying democratic outcomes in West Africa and assess ECOWAS's role in these processes.

July 8, 2026

Regional organisations and democratic (dis)consolidation in Africa: critical reflections on the role of ECOWAS

Key Points

The article aims to explore the causes of varying democratic outcomes in West Africa and assess ECOWAS's role in these processes.
Analyzed historical and political contexts affecting democracy in West Africa.
Examined ECOWAS's interventions in promoting democratic governance.
Identified factors influencing democratic success and setbacks in the subregion.
ECOWAS contributed to democracy building through problem-solving, election monitoring, and civil society capacity building.
Recent coups in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Niger challenged ECOWAS's effectiveness and commitment to democracy.
Weaknesses in key institutions and Nigeria's diminished capacity as a regional leader affected ECOWAS’s influence.

Abstract

This article seeks to explain the causes and processes of varied outcomes of democratic reforms in West Africa and the roles of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in deepening democracy in the subregion. I propose to explain why some countries have experienced democratic consolidation, and why there have been some reversals and retreats, and to examine the role of ECOWAS in democracy building and consolidation in the subregion. Many factors, such as the nature and the character of the states and their political elites, the historical forces that culminated in the return to democracy, the role of the civil society, the political economy of the states and the degree of freedom for political participation by the citizens affect the degree of democratic consolidation in West Africa. Given the recent retreat of democracy in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger, it would appear that the political elites in these countries lack political consensus and commitment to democratic culture. This article analyses the role of ECOWAS in promoting democracy in the subregion. In doing this, the objective is to identify the factors that are most influential in causing successes and failures of democratic consolidation in the subregion and the roles of the ECOWAS Commission in this process. The overarching questions are: what factors are most influential in causing successes and failures of democratic consolidation in West Africa and what factors determine the successes or failures of ECOWAS in this process? I found that ECOWAS has played some role in the consolidation of democracies in the subregion through involvement in solving political problems, election monitoring and building capacity of civil society groups. However, recent coups in the subregion have tested ECOWAS’s commitment to its protocol on democracy and good governance due to the weaknesses of its key institutions, the complexities of the coups and the weakened capacity of Nigeria as a regional hegemon.

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