Nsemba Edward Lenshie
Since the adoption of the 2001 Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, ECOWAS has used sanctions, suspension, diplomatic pressure and the threat of force, especially recently, to force a restoration of democratic order in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Based on Regional Security Complex Theory and documented evidence, this research establishes that punitive measures by ECOWAS, in particular, against Niger accelerated the materialisation of the Alliance of Sahel States, thereby heightening great-power competition and enabling Russia and China to instrumentalise regional turmoil in the bid to pull the juntas closer into their security and economic orbits. ECOWAS's mismanaged interventions brought about changes to the political, economic, and security landscape of ECOWAS's institutional and regional governance architecture. ECOWAS needs to adopt pragmatic pathways that include addressing individually and collectively structural drivers of democratic failure and ensuring balanced partnerships that respect sovereignty while promoting democratic norms and regional stability.