Open Access#12016
Insecurity implications of unconstitutional changes of government in Africa: from military to constitutional coups
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.