Citation :

Abdullahi Isah Wali, BAKARE, Kehinde Najimu, OGUNDARE, Yemi Daniel, 2025. "Regional Security and Preventive Diplomacy: Evaluating ECOWAS Military Engagements in the Niger Republic" ESP International Journal of Science, Humanities & Management Studies(ESP-IJSHMS)  Volume 3, Issue 3: 11-19.

Abstract :

This paper is a critical analysis of the economic community of West African states (ECOWAS) contribution to the regional security and preventive diplomacy by means of military involvements in the Niger Republic. The renewed patterns of unconstitutional turnover of power in West Africa, such as the military coup in Niger in 2023, have led to serious questions of democratic regression, weak institutions, and insecurity of the region. ECOWAS is one of the main regional blocks that has adapted coercive, and peace mechanisms in addressing the crisis in political boundaries. This study examines the legality, effectiveness and legitimacy of the military position and conflict-preventing mechanism of the ECOWAS in the wider collective security formats and democratic restoration. The research design relies on the qualitative case study methodology because the informational basis will be represented by policy documents, communiques, expert interviews, and related secondary literature. This analysis studies the institutional capability, political commitment, and regional consensus of the ECOWAS as well as corresponding to the normative text, including the 2001 protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. The analysis establishes that although ECOWAS interventions are a step in the right direction with dedication to the protection of democratic order, they are hindered by varied inconsistencies in implementation, inability of member states to cooperate and external sources of geopolitical influences. The paper ends by presenting a case that it is high time that the strategic tools of ECOWAS are recalibrated to be able to realize legitimacy, operational coherence, and sustainable democratic immediate results in its military interventions. Some policy recommendations are provided to enhance preventive diplomacy, foster regional ownership, and create institutional resilience of fragile West African democracies such as Niger.

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Keywords :

ECOWAS, Regional Security Complex Theory, Military Coups, Democracy, Niger Republic, Unconstitutional Change of Government.