West Africa is witnessing a renewed wave of political instability, with multiple coups and coup‑attempts rattling the region in recent years. On 7 December 2025, a group of soldiers in Benin briefly seized the state broadcaster and announced they had taken control of the government. Security forces quickly regained control, arrested the mutineers, and restored order — a surprising turn given that Benin had long been considered one of the more stable democracies in the region.
Just days before, on 26 November 2025, Guinea-Bissau plunged into crisis when the military seized power, halted the release of election results from a contested vote, closed borders, suspended the electoral process, and installed a new leadership. The takeover sparked protests and deepened uncertainty in a country with a long history of political instability.
These recent events come on the back of a broader trend: since 2020, at least six successful coups have occurred across West Africa — in Mali (2020, 2021), Guinea (2021), Burkina Faso (twice in 2022), and Niger (2023). Analysts estimate that across Africa, almost half of all global coups since 1950 have occurred on the continent — and the West and Central Africa region alone accounts for a large share of these.
The surge in military interventions is altering political dynamics across the region, weakening constitutional order and undermining trust in democratic institutions. Countries already grappling with economic hardship, security challenges, and social unrest may find their vulnerabilities deepening if instability spreads — a worrying prospect for both coastal and Sahel‑region states. Many observers now see the recent events as part of an expanding “coup belt” in West Africa.