The Nordic Africa Podcast: West Africa’s coup epidemic and its causes

A new episode of the Nordic Africa Podcast: We discuss the epidemic of coups
in West Africa and its causes.
On September 30th, a fraction of Burkina Faso’s army under the leadership of Ibrahim Traoré, a young army captain, led a coup in Burkina Faso. A couple of weeks later he was sworn in as interim president, vowing to win back territory from jihadists. This was the second coup d’état in Burkina Faso this year and part of a trend the UN Secretary-General has termed “an epidemic of coups” in West Africa. Apart from Burkina Faso and Mali, who both witnessed two recent coups, there have also been coups and coup attempts in Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau and Niger.
In this episode of the Nordic Africa Podcast, we talk about the main actors and causes behind these coups and the development of democracy in the region. With us are three senior researchers from the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI); Papa Sow, geo-sociologist with a focus on migration and climate change; Cristiano Lanzano, social anthropologist with a background in political science and development studies; and Jesper Bjarnesen, anthropologist working mainly on migration and mobility in West Africa.
Podcasts from The Nordic Africa Institute
-
The end of Françafrique?: Macron’s new Africa strategy
Recently, French president Emmanuel Macron came back from a tour to Africa where he visited Gabon, Angola and the two Congos. Just ahead of his visit,...
Listen here
-
Women’s Day special: African women in politics
There have been some gains in the political realm for women politicians in Africa as shown in the Kenya elections last fall and in the 2020 Ghana...
Listen here
-
China’s interests in Africa: “Everything is weaponized”
Recently, China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang finished his first official visit overseas in Africa. In this episode of the Nordic Africa podcast, we...
Listen here
-
Nigeria Elections: “There is a lot of hunger and anger”
With less than a month left to the presidential election, the Labour Party’s candidate Peter Obi is well ahead of his rivals in the polls. “There is a...
Listen here
-
West Africa’s coup epidemic and its causes
Over the past couple of years, we have seen what the UN Secretary-General has termed “an epidemic of coups” in West Africa. Burkina Faso, Mali,...
Listen here
