POLITICAL INSTABILITY, DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN WEST AFRICA

Abstract

West Africa is constantly bedeviled by a renewed trend of political instability and democratic backsliding despite decades of post–Cold War democratization and democratic consolidation. As ECOWAS marks its golden anniversary, several member-states continue to be confronted with the spate of military coups, authoritarian resurgence, civil liberty suppression, electoral irregularities, weak institutions, and governance crises. Pertinently, military intervention is increasingly perceived in some arenas as a corrective alternative to failing democratic systems. This study adopts a qualitative research design based on secondary data, including scholarly literature, policy documents, and ECOWAS treaties and protocols. It is hinged on Frustration–Aggression Theory in explaining the correlation between governance failures and popular receptivity to unconstitutional change of government. This study argues that sustained democratic erosion produces public frustration, which may legitimize military intervention, equating it to a perceived solution to governance deficits. This trend risks entrenching West Africa as a focal point of coups and autocratic rule, if appropriate checks are not put in place. Findings reveal that weak institutional frameworks, non-adherence to constitutional term limits, limited accountability, and insufficient civic engagement significantly drive democratic backsliding. This study introduces a “demo-meter” as a standard of measurement for democratic ethos, values and strategies to check and maintain democratic tempo and advocates those West African states must put forward a demonstrated relative democratic resilience through institutional strengthening, adherence to term limits, and civil society engagement to check and maintain democratic tempo.