ANCIP Webinar Series
African Union Responses to Unconstitutional Changes of Government: Current Challenges and Lessons Learned
Panel Content
Between April 2019 and August 2023, Africa experienced ten unconstitutional seizures of power, along with several failed attempts of a coup d’état. Previously, coups had become rare, and the African Union (AU), together with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), enforced relatively short transitions by leveraging robust frameworks — notably the 1999 Lomé Declaration and the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. This trend has now shifted. Coups are more frequent, transitions more protracted, and the rule barring perpetrators of unconstitutional changes of government (UCGs) from contesting elections meant to restore constitutional order is increasingly disregarded. The credibility of international actors has been weakened by their failure to address underlying governance issues, while inconsistent application of AU and RECs norms has eroded deterrence.
The Webinar discussion will centre on the newly published ANCIP Working Paper by El-Ghassim Wane on “The African Union and Coups: Why Implementation Matters More than New Norms”. Amid calls to revise existing frameworks, participants of this webinar discuss what exactly the current challenges for the AU and the RECs are, and what lessons can be learned from past responses to UCGs.
Panelists
Amb. Said Djinnit has been Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region (2014–2019). Previously he has served as the UN Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA, 2008–2014), and as the AU’s first Commissioner for Peace and Security (2003–2008).
El-Ghassim Wane is the former UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Mali and former Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA, 2021–2024). Previously he has served as Chief of Staff and Chief Adviser of the AU Commission chairperson (2017–2019), UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (2016–2017) as well as AU Commission Peace and Security Director and Head of the Conflict Management Division.
Antonia Witt is Head of the Research Group ‘African Intervention Politics’ at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF). Her research focuses on African regional interventions in response to coups and political crises, including local perspectives and expectations. She is the author of Undoing Coups: The African Union and Post-Coup Intervention in Madagascar (2020, ZedBooks).
Moderator:
Ulf Engel is Professor of ‘Politics in Africa’ at the Institute of African Studies, Leipzig University. He is also a visiting professor at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) and a professor extraordinary at the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University (South Africa).
ANCIP Webinar 1
Date
10 July 2025 at 9AM (GMT)
Location
Zoom
Panelists
Amb. Said Djinnit, El-Ghassim Wane, Antonia Witt
Registration
Zoom Link
ECOWAS at 50: Reflections on Legitimacy, Intervention, and Regional Order
Panel Content
As ECOWAS marks its 50th anniversary, the regional organization stands at a critical juncture. Once regarded as a central actor in regional integration and crisis response in West Africa, ECOWAS is now navigating a rapidly evolving political and institutional landscape. The withdrawal of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), growing critiques of its governance frameworks, and the shifting nature of its external partnerships have prompted renewed reflection on its legitimacy, relevance, and future direction.
This webinar – in co-organization with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) – brings together a panel of experts and practitioners to reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing ECOWAS today. Against the backdrop of recent political upheavals and broader debates over regional security and governance, the discussion will explore ECOWAS’s evolving institutional practices, its normative commitments, and its financial and operational capacities. It will also consider the changing dynamics of international support and cooperation, particularly in light of ECOWAS’s long-standing relationship with the European Union. At a moment of both uncertainty and possibility, this conversation seeks to generate critical insights into how ECOWAS can adapt and respond to the demands of a shifting regional order. We will in particular ask how non-military aspects of ECOWAS interventions can be better understood and further strengthened.
Panelists
Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah – Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security at the ECOWAS Commission.
Emma Birikorang – Director of Research of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).
Mona Saleh – Research Fellow at the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), Duisburg-Essen University.
Moderator:
Christof Hartmann – Director of the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), University of Duisburg-Essen.
ANCIP Webinar 2
Date
18 July 2025 at 10AM (GMT) / (11AM Abuja, 1PM Addis Ababa, 12AM Berlin)
Location
Zoom
