United Nations Secretary General: "Military Coup Returns" Coup | Africa | Military Coup
On July 28th, the BBC website published an article titled "Is military takeover in Africa on the rise?". The article points out that military coups occurred frequently in the decades following the independence of African countries. People are now worried that coups will become more frequent.
The takeover action in Niger is the latest in a series of coups that have occurred in recent years.
In 2022, there were two coups in Burkina Faso, and attempted coups in Guinea Bissau, Gambia and the island country Sao Tome and Principe.
In 2021, there were 6 coups in Africa, of which 4 were successful.
Last year, senior African Union official Moussa Faki Mohammed expressed concern about the resurgence of unconstitutional government changes.
A study conducted by two American researchers, Jonathan Powell and Clayton Sean, found that there have been over 200 coups in Africa since the 1950s.
From 1960 to 2000, the total number of attempted coups in Africa remained astonishingly high, averaging around 4 per year.
Jonathan Powell said that it is not surprising considering the turbulent years experienced by African countries after independence.
He said, "African countries have common conditions for coups, such as poverty and poor economic performance. A coup in a country is often a precursor to more coups."
After 2000, the number of coups significantly decreased.
However, despite only one coup in 2020, the figures for 2021 are significantly higher than the average.
In 2022, there were 5 coups, but only two were successful - in Burkina Faso.
In 2021, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, "Military coups are back." He also said, "Geopolitical differences are undermining international cooperation... a concept of unpunished is emerging."
Overall, Africa has experienced more coups than any other continent. Among the 17 recorded coups worldwide since 2017, except for one in Myanmar in 2021, the rest occurred in Africa.
