Insecurity implications of unconstitutional changes of government in Africa: from military to constitutional coups
Authors
Professor Pacifique Manirakiza
Law, University of Ottawa
Abstract
This article investigates the AU’s approach to mitigating unconstitutional changes of government. While military coup d’état’s were once the most common form of regime change on the continent, the post-Cold War democratization process and the adoption of anti-coup diplomatic interventionist policies by the AU have reduced this phenomenon. However, it remains uncertain as to the effectiveness of the AU in curtailing the new trend of undermining African democracy by manipulating national legal structures so as to extend the life of a regime.
Author Biography
Professor Pacifique Manirakiza, Law, University of Ottawa
Pacifique Manirakiza is a law professor at the University of Ottawa who also served on the African Union (AU) Commission of Inquiry on violence in South Sudan in 2014.
