Regional intervention in the promotion of democracy in West Africa: an analysis of the political crisis in the Gambia and ECOWAS’ coercive diplomacy

ABSTRACT

This article examines how ECOWAS’ preventive diplomacy and preventive deployment of forces to unlock the political stalemate in the Gambia succeeded in installing in office the ‘president-in-exile’, Adama Barrow, following his defeat of Yahya Jammeh who had ruled for over 20 years. The coercive diplomacy undertaken in defence of democracy in the Gambia was the latest manifestation of ECOWAS’ demonstrated capacity and readiness to use force if necessary as deterrence to subversion of constitutional democratic rule in West Africa. Unlike other ECOWAS’ interventions in West Africa, ECOWAS swiftly put to an end a potentially explosive crisis without any casualties. The president-elect, Adama Barrow took the oath-of-office as president in Senegal while coercive diplomacy was pursued to bring him back to the Gambia. The article argues that ECOWAS’ recognition of Adama Barrow’s electoral legitimacy and its intervention is a testament of ECOWAS’ resolve to promote and defend democracy in West Africa. Therefore, whether or not a winner of a presidential election has control over the state’s territory, ECOWAS will act to enforce its agreed protocols.

KEYWORDS:

• ECOWAS
• coercive diplomacy
• intervention
• democracy
• legitimacy
• peace
• security

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful and helpful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Kreß and Nußberger, ‘Pro-democratic intervention in current international law: the case of The Gambia in January 2017.’

2. Williams, ‘A New African Model of Coercion?’, 2017.

3. African Union, ‘Communiqué’, 12 December 2016.

4. Adebajo, West Africa’s Tragic Twins, 2006. See also Olakounlé, The Role of ECOWAS in Managing Political Crisis, 2007.

5. Ateku, ‘How West Africa built the muscle to rout dictators’, 2017.

6. Adebajo, ‘Building Peace in West Africa’, 2002.

7. Article 13 of PMAD made provision for the establishment of the Allied Armed Forces of the Community (AAFC).

8. Howe,‘Lessons of Liberia’, 154–55.

9. UNDP, ‘United Nations Assistance to Peace-Building and Rehabilitation Efforts’; see also Ero, ‘ECOWAS and the Sub-regional Peacekeeping in Liberia’, 1995.

10. ECOWAS, Decision A/DEC.9/5/90.

11. Frempong, ‘Monitoring Democratic Governance within ECOWAS’, 124.

12. Hammerstad, ‘African Commitments to Democracy in Theory and Practice’, 3.

13. Bundu, ‘ECOWAS and the Future of Regional Integration in West Africa’, p. 28.

14. ECOWAS, ECOWAS Revised Treaty.

15. Frempong, ‘Monitoring Democratic Governance within ECOWAS’, 126.

16. ECOWAS, ‘Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-keeping and Security.’

17. ECOWAS, ‘Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance’, p.8.

18. ECOWAS, ‘ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework’, para 42.

19. The Wall Street Journal, ‘Gambian President-Elect Is Sworn In’, 2017.

20. Perfect, ‘Historical Dictionary of The Gambia’, 21.

21. Africa Research Bulletin (ARB), ‘The Gambia: Election Run-up’, 21,211–12; Petesch, C. ‘Gambia ruler predicts landslide’, 2016.

22. Fagan, ‘Elections in The Gambia: But What Happens if Jammeh Loses?’, 27 November 2016 2016.

23. Al Jazeera, ‘Gambia’s Jammeh “Handpicked” Women for Rape, Abuse’, 26 January 2017.

24. Human Rights Watch, ‘State of Fear’, pp.203–204; Amnesty International, ‘Dangerous to Dissent’; and Hultin, et al., ‘Autocracy, Migration, and The Gambia’s “unprecedented” 2016 Election’, 321–340.

25. Amnesty International, ‘Gambia: Death in detention of key political activist’ 16 April.

26. Amnesty International, ‘Gambia: Prison Sentences for Opposition Leaders Continues’.

27. Perfect, Historical Dictionary of The Gambia, 170−174; 306–337; and 339–429.

28. Saidykhan, ‘UN Genocide Chief Damns Jammeh’s Inflammatory Mandinka THREAT’, 11 June; and Hultin et al., ‘Autocracy, Migration, and The Gambia’s ‘Unprecedented 2016 Election’, 324.

29. Fagan, ‘Elections in The Gambia: But What Happens if Jammeh Loses?’. Hultin et al., ‘Autocracy, Migration, and The Gambia’s “Unprecedented” 2016 Election’, 322.

30. Africa Research Bulletin (ARB), ‘The Gambia: Stunning Presidential Victory’, 21,239–42.

31. BBC News, ‘Gambia: ECOWAS Observers Boycott ‘Unfair Poll’ 23 November; The Citizen, ‘ECOWAS to boycott Gambia’s presidential elections’ 30 November.

32. Africa Research Bulletin, ‘The Gambia: Election run-up’, 21211–12. Marenah, ‘ECOWAS boycott Gambia’s polls for a second time’, 28 November.

33. Kreß and Nußberger, ‘Pro-democratic intervention in current international law’, p.1.

34. The Guardian, ‘Gambian president Yahya Jammeh Rejects Election Result’, 10 December.

35. Africa Research Bulletin, ‘The Gambia: Stunning Presidential Victory’, 39–42.

36. AFP, 2015; ARB, 2017a; Marenah, 2016b; AFP, ‘Gambian president sacked Supreme Court judges: lawyer’, 28 June. Africa Research Bulletin, ‘The Gambia: stunning presidential victory’, pp.21239–42. Marenah, ‘The six new justices to hear Jammeh’s appeal named’. 30 December.

37. Reuters, ‘Gambia Supreme Court judge declines to rule on president’s election challenge’, 17 January 2017.

38. Ludovica,‘Gambia election: Supreme Court “will Not be Able” to Hear Outgoing President’s Challenge for Months’, 10 January 2017.

39. Ludovica, ‘Gambia National Assembly rules Entrenched President Jammeh can Stay in Power’, 18 January; Jobarteh, M, ‘Building the New Gambia: Assault on The Gambia by Yaya Jammeh’, 18 January 2017.

40. Al Jazeera, ‘Adama Barrow Pledges Truth Commission over Yahya Jammeh’, 21 January.

41. David Perfect, ‘The Gambian 2016 Presidential Election and its Aftermath, The Round Table’, p. 323–337.

42. Vanguard, ‘Jammeh sacks cabinet members as tension continues in Gambia’, 20 January.

43. African Union Peace and Security Council, ‘Communiqué’.13 January 2017. See also United Nations, ‘Security Council Press Statement on the Gambia Elections,’ 10 December 2016.

44. Al Jazeera, ‘Gambia’s Jammeh rejects result of presidential election’, 10 December. ECOWAS. ‘The chairperson of ECOWAS speaks on the current political situation in The Gambia’, 11 December.

45. ECOWAS Choice of this mediatory could be influenced by their political standing in the region.

46. ECOWAS,‘Fiftieth Ordinary Session of The ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government’.

47. Williams, ‘A New African Model of Coercion? Assessing the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia’.

48. UNSC,‘Res 2337ʹ. UN Doc S/RES/2337, 19 January.

49. Searcy and Barry, ‘Troops Enter Gambia as New President is Sworn In’.19 January; Reuters. ‘Senegalese Troops Enter Gambia in Support of Its New President’.19 January.

50. Searcy, ‘Why Democracy Prevailed in Gambia’. 30 January 2017.

51. Abdoulaye, The Paradox of Third-Wave Democratisation in Africa, 1994–2008’.

52. Tombe, ‘The Casamance Conflict: Un-imagining a Community’, 52.

53. Ibid.

54. Freeman, ‘Hopes of deporting Gambia’s exiled dictator from Equatorial Guinea fade’, 3 January.

55. Gegout. ‘The International Criminal Court: Limits, Potential and Conditions for the Promotion of Justice and Peace’, 800.

56. Kersten, ‘Could Yahya Jammeh End up at the International Criminal Court?’ 23 January 2017.

57. BBC News, ‘Gambia crisis: Barrow sworn in in Senegal as Jammeh stays put’, 19 January 2017.

58. Ibid.

59. BBC News, ‘The Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh’s term extended by parliament’, 18 January 2017.

60. Doswald-Beck, ‘The Legal Validity of Military Intervention by Invitation of the Government’, 190.

61. Al Jazeera, ‘Adama Barrow sworn in as Gambia’s president in Senegal,’ 19 January 2017.

62. Plasse. ‘Niger: Opposition seek ECOWAS intervention in President’s hold on power’, 26 August.

63. Jenkins, ‘The Economic Community of West African States and the Regional Use of Force’, 333–351.

64. ECOWAS adopted the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework in 2008 and the Early Warning System (ECOWARN) so that it is able to deepen democratic governance and to pick violent signals from member states for early response.

65. UNSC, ‘Statement by the President of the Security Council, UN. SCOR, 46th Session. 2974th meeting’. UN. Doc. S/22133.

66. UN Doc S/RES/2337 (n 11) para 6.

67. UNSC, UN Doc S/PV.7866.19 January. para 2, 3, 6.

68. UN Doc S/PV.7866 (n 18) 3.

69. Yoroms, ‘ECOMOG and West African Regional Security’, 87–88; see also Howe, ‘Lessons of Liberia: ECOMOG and Regional Peacekeeping’, 151–153; and, Tarr, ‘The ECOMOG Initiative in Liberia: A Liberian Perspective’, 78–79.

Additional information

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Abdul-Jalilu Ateku

Abdul-Jalilu Ateku is a Lecturer in Political Science at the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana and holds a PhD from the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. His research focuses on peacebuilding, peacekeeping, human security, post-conflict reconstruction, human rights, and African security and politics.