Another Coup in the Sahel: Here’s a Way to Halt This Cycle

Another Coup in the Sahel: Here’s a Way to Halt This Cycle

Thursday, October 20, 2022

By: Sandrine Nama;  Joseph Sany, Ph.D.

This month’s coup d’etat in Burkina Faso, the seventh in 26 months around the Sahel region, only extends the Sahel’s long agonies of failing governance, civil wars and violent extremism. Military-led intervention by France and other outside powers has failed to stem the widening destabilization of a landmass and population vastly bigger than those of the recent U.S. wars in Afghanistan or Iraq. U.S. and international security require a policy reset that addresses the Sahel crisis’ causes rather than its symptoms. In Burkina Faso and other states, this means supporting inclusive processes of national dialogue that can mobilize whole of the society to address those causes.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsMediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Biden’s Trip, and Ukraine’s War, Could Boost the Abraham Accords

Biden’s Trip, and Ukraine’s War, Could Boost the Abraham Accords

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

By: Joel E. Starr

President Biden’s Middle Eastern diplomatic mission this week contrasts with news reports and public discussion in the past year suggesting that the region has become a lesser priority for U.S. foreign and security policy. Biden’s visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank territory build on a reality that Middle Eastern states have been knitting new relations, notably via the 2020 Abraham Accords. They are doing so in ways that Biden’s visit, and overall U.S. diplomacy, can advance.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsGlobal Policy

Examining the Military’s Soft Power Challenge in the Southern Philippines

Examining the Military’s Soft Power Challenge in the Southern Philippines

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

By: Joseph Franco

This is a moment of both real and potential transition for the AFP, as the prospect of sustainable peace in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and at least wearying of non-state threats could enable a transition in force posture from a focus on internal security operations to broader regional defense.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsPeace Processes

إعادة عملية الانتقال السياسي في السودان إلى مسارها الصحيح

إعادة عملية الانتقال السياسي في السودان إلى مسارها الصحيح

Friday, December 17, 2021

By: Susan Stigant

قد حكم الجيش السودان لمدة 53 عامًا من أصل 66 عامًا مضت منذ حصوله على الاستقلال عام 1955. وفي 25 أكتوبر/تشرين الاول استولى الجيش، في حركة مألوفة على السلطة مما ألقى بظلال من الشك على التحول السياسي الذي من شأنه أن يؤدي إلى حكم مدني. وتم حل القيادة المدنية واعتقال قادتها وإعلان حالة الطوارئ. واستشهد قائد الانقلاب الجنرال عبد الفتاح برهان بمبررات بالية لتبرير أفعاله. وفي وقت لاحق أعيد رئيس الوزراء المخلوع عبد الله حمدوك إلى رئاسة حكومة تكنوقراطية إلى أن يحين موعد الانتخابات المقرر إجراؤها في يوليو/تموز 2023.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsDemocracy & Governance

Putting Sudan’s Political Transition Back on Track

Putting Sudan’s Political Transition Back on Track

Thursday, December 9, 2021

By: Susan Stigant

Sudan has been ruled by the military for 53 of the 66 years since it gained independence in 1955. On October 25, the military, in a familiar move, seized power throwing into question the political transition that would result in civilian rule. The civilian cabinet was dissolved, its leaders arrested and a state of emergency declared. Coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan cited well-worn excuses to justify his actions. Ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was later reinstated to lead a technocratic cabinet until elections scheduled for July 2023.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsDemocracy & Governance

After Two Coups, Mali Needs Regional Support to Bolster Democracy

After Two Coups, Mali Needs Regional Support to Bolster Democracy

Thursday, December 9, 2021

By: Ena Dion;  Joseph Sany, Ph.D.

Amid a 15-year global democratic recession, the Biden administration is convening over a hundred nations this week to revitalize democracy. This comes at a critical juncture, as democracy’s defenders are reeling from the growing challenges posed by authoritarian foes. The West African country of Mali puts these challenges in stark relief, after the country experienced two coups in a year. Underlying the crisis of coups in Mali is a deeper crisis of state legitimacy, which has been exacerbated by Western security assistance overly focused on short-term counterterrorism gains.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsDemocracy & Governance

Myanmar Struggles to Reverse a Coup; Democracies Can Help

Myanmar Struggles to Reverse a Coup; Democracies Can Help

Thursday, December 9, 2021

By: Billy Ford;  Jason Tower

Few countries this year dramatize more powerfully the need for a global focus on strengthening democracy than Myanmar, now 10 months into a new chapter of military dictatorship and violence following its February 1 coup. Myanmar is a testament to the vulnerability of democracy when armed forces expect no repercussions for brutality and can rely on support from authoritarian governments which will arm, legitimize and finance them. As the United States and partners seek ways to boost democracy in this week’s White House summit, experts on Myanmar offered recommendations for policy.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsDemocracy & Governance

Guinea’s Lesson for Strengthening Democracy: Use ‘Peer Power’

Guinea’s Lesson for Strengthening Democracy: Use ‘Peer Power’

Thursday, December 9, 2021

By: Joseph Sany, Ph.D.

As dozens of nations seek to strengthen democracy at this week’s White House summit, indicators for effective methods can be found in Guinea, one of five nations that this year suffered a coup by its military. An overarching lesson is for the United States and other more distant governments and institutions to recognize the greater efficacy of putting regional communities in the lead. For Guinea, this will mean supporting a stronger role by neighboring countries and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)—a 15 nation grouping that has shown real promise as a promoter of democracy.

Civilian-Military RelationsDemocracy & Governance