ECOWAS UNDER STRAIN
Why Rising Coups Demand U.S. Attention
West Africa is once again at a dangerous crossroads. Anti-democratic sentiments are rising across the ECOWAS region, and the United States has every reason to be deeply concerned.
What began in the Sahel-with military takeovers in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad-has spread beyond what many once assumed was a geographically contained problem. Gabon in Central Africa followed. More recently, Guinea-Bissau with constant instability and infamous for weak governance institutions which has created a security vacuum that allows for drug trafficking to many parts of the world has experienced a coup as well. Benin which has one of the stable democracies in West Africa, although there has been rising personalization of executive power nearly experienced a coup too. Just a few years ago, the sound of guns overthrowing governments in Africa seemed like a distant echo of the past. Today, that sound is back-louder, more coordinated, and increasingly destabilizing an entire region of 16 countries with enormous economic potential and growing strategic importance.
This resurgence of coups is unfolding at a time when global competition among major powers is intensifying. Russia continues to expand its influence through security partnerships and military engagement, while China’s outward, non-political economic strategy steadily deepens its footprint across the region. In this context, American disengagement is not just risky-it is untenable.
The significant economic growth and poverty reduction West Africa has experienced over the past three decades did not happen by accident. These socio-economic achievements were closely tied to democratization, institutional reforms, and sustained efforts to consolidate democratic governance. Allowing these hard-won gains to erode because of declining commitment to democracy would be a historic setback—not only for the region, but for U.S. interests as well.
In an increasingly interconnected world, instability in West Africa does not remain local. The United States derives direct benefits from the region’s stability, including trade, security cooperation, migration management, and the protection of democratic norms in a strategically vital part of the globe.
Even Ghana, long regarded as the beacon of democracy in West Africa-is not immune. President John Dramani Mahama and the European Union recently acknowledged that no country in the region can consider itself insulated from the current wave of democratic reversal. That admission should serve as a warning signal.
The broader regional support for American democratic values is being tested as coups become normalized and civilian governments appear increasingly fragile. The United States cannot afford to allow this trend to harden into a new status quo. A region consumed by political instability and military rule risks descending into prolonged chaos-conditions that directly undermine U.S. strategic, economic, and security interests. Preventing that outcome requires renewed engagement, principled leadership, and a clear commitment to defending democratic governance in West Africa before the costs of inaction become irreversible.