A Continent In Turmoil, Africa Faces A New Era Of Uncertainty
Exacerbated by corruption, inflation and worsening living standards, Africa finds itself submerged in a wave of coups that threatens to upend the little stability it had left.
On the 29th of August, Gabon’s presidential election, already cloaked in allegations of corruption and fraud, became annulled when a group of army officers stormed the presidential palace, announcing the implementation of a “temporary council” until the dispute could be resolved. President Ali Bongo’s overthrow marked the end of his family’s 56-year hold on the West African country, a time characterised by the looting and plundering of the country’s rich resources.
The insurrection follows a string of coups d’etat that have washed over the continent in recent months, predominately in former French colonies such as Chad, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. In fact, so prevalent are coups to this region that a new term has been coined to describe it, ‘The Coup Belt’. Spanning over 3,500 miles, it stretches from coast to coast, making it the longest corridor of military rule on Earth.
While Africa has never been the most stable continent – its modern history marked by assassinations, fraudulent elections, civil wars, and regime changes – there was hope, at least in the international community, that this tumultuous era had been left behind. Through international investment and more sound fiscal policies, Africa’s economy stabilised, leading to a substantial reduction in poverty and unemployment. Education attainment soared, illiteracy decreased, and the democratic franchise expanded to millions more people, opening up opportunities never seen before in the region.
That brief glimmer of hope seems to be over.
Almost orchestrated by their proximity, in both location and time, the recent coups are seen by many in Africa as a rebuke against Western neo-colonisation, a rejection of the vassals European countries installed to maintain their influence in the region and allow them unfettered access to the vast resources imbedded in the soil. It should be of no surprise then that one of the first measures taken by these new regimes has been the expulsion of French military forces, which still resides in many of these countries on peacekeeping grounds. Lucrative resources, like the many uranium and gold mines, have also been nationalised by the new governments, promising an end to international exploitation.
Niger, another impoverished central African country that underwent a coup several months ago, alone hosts 1,100 American troops, stationed as part of the Pentagon’s strategy at curbing Islamic extremism in the Sahel region, now the global epicentre of Jihadist violence, accounting for 43% of worldwide terrorist deaths, eclipsing both the Middle East and South Asia. While US officials claim that the presence of American troops is strictly for humanitarian purposes, many in Niger see it differently, as nothing more than the US digging its claws into a region sick of exploitation from external powers.
Everywhere, weak states are a factor. The Sahel hosts some of the world’s poorest countries and the highest birthrates (Niger, where an average woman has seven children, tops the list). Their soaring populations of frustrated, jobless young people swell the ranks of the insurgents. Most of the recent takeovers were led by men in their 30s or early 40s, on a continent where the average leader is in their 60s. Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, who was just 34 when he seized power in Burkina Faso last year, is currently the world’s youngest head of state.
Though the intentions of the new regimes remain clouded in mystery, their early actions have been promising. Expelling French military forces, nationalising mineral mines, and pledging to defend one another in the face of external aggression, all point to signs that the continent and its people are forging a new path for themselves, away from the constant subjugation faced under the US state department.
Unsurprisingly, Western governments have sounded the alarm, warning that the new regimes imperil Western Africa’s stability and risk plunging the region into another period of civil unrest. During a national address, Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, condemned the regimes as a “threat to democracy and liberty”, pledging to respond accordingly. In tandem, America and the EU issued statements highlighting the need for “democracy to be respected.”
In the grand scheme of geopolitics, democracy to both sides is negotiable. The very thought America genuinely cares about the democracy of the Africans is ludicrous at best. America and its Western allies happily collaborate alongside authoritarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and El Salvador because they view the relationship as mutually beneficial. The new regimes threat to the West’s hegemony, not its undemocratic nature, is the reason they’ve been blacklisted and threatened. With its abundance in oil, gold and uranium, West Africa is an essential region to have control over, especially as the war for resources heightens in an era of global scarcity, something the West can ill-afford to lose.
Neoliberals and neoconservatives in Washington DC are no doubt salivating at the prospect of another regional conflict, hoping to use it as a justification for further militarily intervention. If US troops are not directly involved, then it will be conducted through its proxy in the region, ECOWAS, a political and economic union of fifteen West African countries that still maintain close ties with Paris and Washington. Military units posted on the border have already been put on high alert and senior ECOWAS leaders, speaking to the press, have suggested that an armed response is on the cards.
With its influence slowly eroding, America may find itself pushing for an escalation in the hope of dissuading other states from slipping from its hegemony and siding with its geopolitical rivals, Russia and China, both of whom have been shoring up their support in the region, forging economic ties and collaborating on military training exercises. Extinguishing Gabon or Niger’s regimes before they are able to consolidate power would go a long way in setting an example to future revolutionaries.
The only ones who will suffer are the ordinary Africans, caught in a brutal tug-of-war between two rival geopolitical blocs.