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Accepted Paper:
The AU and African regional organisations dealing with unconstitutional changes of government: a fragmented approach
Abstract
Aimé-Parfait Niyonkuru
(UNIVERSITE PARIS NANTERRE)
Since the 21 century, the resurgence of military regimes in Africa is a well documented fact, particulary in the Sahel Region. A breach of both AU and African RECs' Laws. This paper analyses, through the lens of political and legal consitency, the responses of theses organisations to such a breach.
Paper long abstract:
From 1958 to 2010, a 53-year period, Khabele Matlosa and David Dossou Zounmenou documented 81 successful coups d'état in Africa, an average of 1.5 per year. Since 2000, the year that marked a turning point in the African vision of the legality of accession to power, more than twenty unconstitutional changes of government have taken place on the continent. For the African Union, this turning point consists of the total rejection and unequivocal condemnation of any unconstitutional change of government. This continental organisation's handling of unconstitutional changes of government has been such that some have gone so far as to infer the existence of an AU doctrine on unconstitutional changes of government.
This paper analyses the way in which the AU and African regional organisations have managed unconstitutional changes of government since 2000. It argues that this management reflects a fragmented approach, revealing contradictions and double standards, against a backdrop of realpolitik.