Published
December 30, 2025
Keywords
- West Africa,
- ECOWAS,
- AES,
- UEMOA,
- Regional integration,
- Cross-border security,
- Coups d'etat,
- Sanctions,
- Sovereignty,
- Legitimacy
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Abstract
On its fiftieth anniversary, ECOWAS faces a crisis that is redefining the regional balance in West Africa: the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and the parallel consolidation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The article argues that this rupture is not an isolated event, but the result of a persistent mismatch between an ambitious normative framework of democracy, governance and conflict prevention, and limited implementation capacity in a context of cross-border jihadist violence, state fragility and recurrent coups d'état. This mismatch translates into impacts on counter-terrorism coordination, regional mobility and economic governance. Looking ahead to a viable reconfiguration, the article proposes reforms aimed at restoring legitimacy through democratic renewal, human security, more inclusive regional governance and the rebalancing of external partnerships.
