EXPERT COMMENT
It is unclear whether the Niger coup can be reversed without further destabilizing the region. But ECOWAS must contain democratic erosion across West Africa.
On the morning of 26 July, soldiers loyal to General Abdourahamane Tiani detained Niger's president, Mohamed Bazoum. That night they declared a full military takeover by the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP).
A three-week barrage of international condemnation and economic sanctions has failed to crack their determination to hold on to power.
The coup presents a challenge that extends far beyond Niger. The stakes are high for West Africa, a region that has seen six coups in three years, as an emergent ‘putschist-populist' politics threatens hard-won democratic progress.
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