The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft hosted Professor Adekeye Adebajo, alongside Stephanie Savell, co-director of Brown University’s Costs of War project, and Hannah Rae Armstrong, a writer and policy advisor on peace and security in North Africa and the Sahel, in a webinar on "The Coup in Niger and U.S. Policy in the Sahel". The webinar took place on 16 August 2023, and was moderated by Alex Thurston, a Quincy Institute non-resident fellow and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati.

On July 26th, a military coup led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani deposed elected Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum. This has triggered condemnation in Washington and a threat from the West African regional organization Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to intervene militarily and restore Bazoum to power. Hailed just this past March as a ‘model of democracy’ by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Niger now stands on the precipice of conflict that could give a fillip to the Islamist militancy already raging in the region. 

The United States is already an actor in Niger. Since 2012, Washington has spent $500 million training and arming Nigerien armed forces, viewing the country as a critical counterrorism partner. In addition, prior to the coup, the United States had 1,100 troops stationed in the country. 

What is to be made of the threat of military intervention by the ECOWAS? To what extent will this coup embolden the standing of Russia and its Wagner Group in the region? What would be a sound policy for the United States to pursue in Niger and the Sahel more broadly?

The webinar is available to view below, or on the Quincy Institute website.