Africa's 'Coup Belt' is a Problem for the West

Africa’s ‘Coup Belt’ is a Problem for the West

ACCRA, GHANA – AUGUST 17: ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense staff meet on August 17, 2023 in Accra, Ghana. Military chiefs for the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) are holding a two-day summit in Accra to discuss potential military intervention in Niger, whose President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed in a coup last month. (Photo by Ernest Ankomah/Getty Images)

Posted: September 5th, 2023

By Norman T. Roule

Norman Roule is a geopolitical and energy consultant who served for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing numerous programs relating to Iran and the Middle East. As NIM-I at ODNI, he was responsible for all aspects of national intelligence policy related to Iran, including IC engagement with senior policymakers in the National Security Council and the Department of State.

EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER+ INTERVIEW – The former head of Gabon’s presidential guard has been sworn in as the country’s new president, just days after a military-led coup there. Meanwhile, protestors have been gathering in Niger’s capital, demanding French troops leave the country following a coup on July 26.

There have been nine coups in West and Central Africa in the past three years, many of them challenging Western influence in resource-rich countries. What is driving unrest in this strategically important region and what would it mean if these countries formed an anti-Western bloc?

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