CSB IAS ACADEMY

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOPIC OF THE DAY (DATE: 12.08.2023)
NIGER COUP
WHY IN NEWS?
Recently, an Army-led coup in Niger removed President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected
two years ago in Niger's first democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960.
BACKGROUND
The leader of the coup General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the Presidential Guard since 2011,
appeared on state television to declare himself the new leader of the troubled West African
country. This is the seventh coup in western and central Africa since2020, including two each
witnessed by Niger’s neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali
NIGER POLITICAL HISTORY
• Niger is a vast, arid country in West Africa, twice the size of France.
• Having a population of about 25million, the largely-agrarian country is one of the poorest
in the world and has ranked low on the Human Development Index over the decades,
vulnerable to the extreme weather effects of climate change which threatens food
security.
• Niger also has gold mining reserves and 5-7% of the global production of uranium.
• It was a French colony until 1960, like many of its neighbours.
• It faced a long period of instability post-independence and was rocked by four
military coups between 1974 and 2010.
• Mahamadou Issoufou came to power in 2011, winning legislative elections.Under his
two-term presidential rule, Niger saw a semblance of political stability.
• In 2021, when Mr. Issoufou agreed to step down after completing his second term,
the maximum number of successive terms allowed to a leader, his CabinetMinister
Mr. Bazoum was elected President, in the first democratic transfer of power since
the country’s independence.
The recent coup in Niger
• The mutinous soldiers, who call themselves the National Council for the Safeguarding of
the Country, took to state television and announced they had seized control because of
the deteriorating security and bad economic and social governance of the nation’s 25
million people.
• They said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the
situation and urged external partners not to interfere.
• The attempted coup was allegedly sparked by the head of the presidential guard, General
Tchiani, whom the president had planned to relieve from his position, Niger analysts say .

Phone No: 9966436874, 8374232308 1

 CSB IAS ACADEMY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ARAB SPRING
• The Arab Spring was a series of pro-democracy uprisings that enveloped several largely
Muslim countries, including Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Bahrain.
• The events in these nations generally began in the spring of 2011, which led to the name.
• However, the political and social impact of these popular uprisings remains significant
today, years after many of them ended.
• When protests broke out in Tunisia in late 2010 and
spread to other countries, there were hopes that
the Arab world was in for massive changes
Does the coup bid follow a pattern in the wider Sahel
region?
• The Sahel region is a semi-arid belt of land located in
Africa, stretching across the southern edge of the
Sahara Desert.
• The region extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the
west to the Red Sea in the east.
• The Sahel region is made up of six Francophone
countries—Burkina Faso, Chad ,Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, and Senegal— collectively home to more than
one hundred million people.
• After independence from the French, these countries What is a military coup ?
have faced long periods of political instability, economic ➢ A military coup is a
and ethnic strife, violence over control of natural situation when the military
resources and the adverse impacts of climate change. violently or non-violently
• The multifold issues of weak governments, often overthrows an existing political
composed of elites of certain ethnic communities, regime. It also goes by the
engaging frequently in corruption and unable to terms, ‘ousting,’ ‘overthrow,’
register economic and social progress, led to military ‘putsch,’ or ‘takeover.’
takeovers of elected regimes under ➢ No matter the term it
the pretext of restoring stability. bears, it’s typically illegal, and
What was the global reaction? unconstitutional and involves
• West African nations- They have imposed sanctions the seizure of power by the
and threatened to use force if the coup leaders do not military, political faction, or a
reinstate the President. dictator.
• African Union- It demanded the country’s military ➢ A coup is successful when the
return to their barracks and restore constitutional coup organizers seize and hold
authority within 15 days. power for at least seven days
• European Union- It announced the suspension of and a coup in the works or
security and funding cooperation with Niger, declaring unsuccessful coup is termed
that it would not recognise the military coup. a ‘coup attempt’.

Phone No: 9966436874, 8374232308 2