ECOWAS AT 50: RESURGENCE OF COUPS & GEO-POLITICAL CHALLENGES OF THE EMERGING WORLD ORDER

Abstract

As the world navigates an era of increasing centres of power and growing tensions between major global powers, West Africa through its regional organization, ECOWAS stands at the threshold of defining the region’s international relations agenda. This research examines the geo-political challenges constraining the bloc from achieving its multilateral aspirations for half a century since the 1975 treaty of Lagos and it revised in 1993 to deepen the regional integration process particularly in the areas peace and security. Since 2020, there have been seven (7) coups in the West Africa. Mali opened the floodgates in 2020 and 2021. Guinea witnessed coup in 2021. In 2022, Burkina Faso had two coups while Niger military toppled their government in 2023 and on 26 November 2025, military took total control removing president Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau at the eve of election result announcement respectively. Amongst the resurgence of coups and the exit of the AES states, security threats from jihadist movements, economic vulnerabilities and intensified scramble for resources by foreign powers threaten West Africa regional integration. This research adopts the theory of Regional Security Complexes (RSC) for conceptual framework in providing analyses on the mandate of ECOWAS to maintain peace and security for geo-political stability in the region through qualitative and interdisciplinary research methodology. This research recommends that the current leadership of ECOWAS glean from the legacies of the bloc from the path-setting regional peacekeeping operations of ECOMOG and continued military and security collaboration to guardrail protocols and conventions on democracy and good governance in cogitating the future trajectory amid the growing state fragilities in the region. For a progressive confederating union, this research also calls for an increased strategic leadership from Nigeria as a pivotal state in pursuing an ECOWAS of the people for peace and prosperity for all.