ANCIP

On 18 July 2025, the ANCIP research network, in cooperation with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, hosted a timely webinar exploring the evolving challenges facing ECOWAS. The webinar offered an opportunity to critically assess ECOWAS’s achievements and the increasingly complex political and security challenges it faces, especially as the organisation marks its 50th anniversary. The panel featured H.E. Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security; KAIPTC Director of Research Emma Birikorang; and INEF Postdoctoral Fellow Mona Saleh, and was chaired by INEF Director Christof Hartmann.

A first key theme that emerged from the discussion concerned ECOWAS’s recent interventions, particularly in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, and why they have failed to reverse military takeovers or restore constitutional rule. Ambassador Musah pointed to a profound shift in the regional and international political landscape. Until 2020, ECOWAS operated in a relatively cohesive international context that broadly supported democratic norms. In contrast, today’s world order, marked by the rising influence and multiplicity of actors, has diminished ECOWAS’s leverage by providing alternative sources of political and material support to military regimes, thereby weakening sanctions and mediation efforts.

Ambassador Musah also noted that ECOWAS had previously agreed on transition timelines with Mali and Burkina Faso, due by the end of 2024. However, sanctions imposed outside the organisation’s regular procedures strained relations with the transitional authorities and eventually culminated in their withdrawal from ECOWAS. This outcome signals both the fragmentation of regional solidarity and ECOWAS’s limited capacity to adapt its responses to a changing geopolitical environment shaped by digital disinformation, youth discontent, and rising global competition. Musah warned that although some military regimes present themselves as aligned with popular sentiment, this does not guarantee effective governance, raising a critical question: how can democracy be legitimised by delegitimising coups?

The webinar also addressed internal dynamics within ECOWAS. Emma Birikorang highlighted that a lack of consensus among heads of state has weakened the authority of the Commission and complicated diplomatic efforts. She stressed that ECOWAS suffers from increasingly divided leadership, making it difficult for the organisation to define a unified strategic direction. Birikorang underscored the weakening of ECOWAS’s mediation capacity and pointed to the absence of strong regional leaders as champions who, in the past, had upheld democratic norms and helped drive political consensus. In the past, figures like Presidents Obasanjo and Kufuor played such roles, lending political weight to ECOWAS decisions. Today, such figures are missing, leaving the organisation without the high-level champions it once relied on. This fragmentation within the Authority of Heads of State has made mediation more difficult and contributed to the organisation’s slow and reactive posture.

Birikorang also emphasised that much of ECOWAS’s conflict prevention and mediation work takes place quietly, making it less visible to the public. She noted that ECOWAS has traditionally preferred discreet diplomacy, especially in its non-military interventions such as mediation and early warning, which often go unacknowledged. For instance, she referred to ECOWAS’s continuous engagement in Sierra Leone following contested elections, which helped stabilise the country and prevent a descent into conflict.

In terms of external partnerships, the panel agreed that ECOWAS must diversify its alliances without compromising its principles. Mona Saleh noted that while traditional donors like the EU remain central particularly in supporting non-military interventions such as mediation, early warning, and peacebuilding; ECOWAS must assert and communicate its own strategic priorities more clearly for mutually beneficial partnerships. The entry of new actors like China, Russia, Turkey, and several Gulf states represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Saleh argued that ECOWAS should leverage these emerging relationships to promote its own peace and security agenda rather than respond to the interests of external partners. She cautioned, however, that these new actors often operate through bilateral agreements and pursue different political and economic models than those promoted by the EU, a context which makes it essential for ECOWAS to develop its own coherent strategies for engaging with external partners.