Lecture 11 Coup d'etat part 2

2020-2022:

substantial

increase in

the number

of African

military

coups

• Coups in Guinea (September 2021), Mali

(August 2020 and May 2021), Chad (April

2021), Sudan (April 2019 and October 2021),

and Burkina Faso (January 2022) contributed

to democratic backsliding and

authoritarianism on the continent (Elischer

and Lawrance)

• Niger (March 2021) and Guinea Bissau

(February 2022) saw failed coup attempts

Can coups

help to

restore

democracy?

(Elischer and

Lawrance)

• In Guinea, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Ik

and

Sudan, military juntas suspended the

constitution and dissolved the national

legislature

• Do the juntas appear to be willing to commit

to the timeline of the transition period?

• Do outside powers, regional organizations,

and domestic civil society pressure the

juntas to hand over power to democratically

elected civilian leaders?

• Are the juntas capable of uniting the

national armed forces behind their course

of action?

Typology of

Coups in

Africa

The Guardian Coup

The Veto Coup

Breakthrough Coup

The Guardian

Coup

–Military intervenes to rescue

the state from civilian

mismanagement

–Outcome: most coup leaders

had to be ousted from power

via insurgency or democratic

process

The Veto

Coup

–Results when military is

threatened by social changes

against their interests in society

–Outcome: same pattern of

political centralization,

corruption, and Economic Crisis

and Decay

–Civil society, not the military,

begins the democratization

process

Breakthrough

Coup

–Military ousts outdated regime to

seek radical transformation of

the political and social order

–Outcome: usually descends into

Personal Rule (ex.: Ethiopia, 1974-

89)

Burkino Faso

• 1960 Independence of Upper Volta

• Brief period of parliamentary

democracy

• Several military Coups in 1966,

1980,1982

Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compoare

• 1983 Thomas Sankara in power

via Coup (Breakthrough Coup)

• Renamed: Burkino Faso

• Social and Economic

development, infrastructure,

women’s rights, vaccinations

campaign

• 1987 overthrown and killed

• Blaisei Campoare comes to

Power (Veto Coup)

• Shadowy French role

Popular Uprising

• 2011 Burkinabe protests begin

• Led by students over low wages,

corruption

• October 2014 Popular uprisings call

for multi-party elections

• Protesting extension of Pres.

Compaore’s tenure as president