The Impact of Sanctions against the Republic of Guinea to Promote Respect for the Constitutional Order

This article analyses to what extent sanctions adopted by regional organisations can help bring about better democratic processes in the region, focusing on the case of the Republic of Guinea. Overthrows are not the only threat to democratisation in Africa. There is a wave of “constitutional coups” or “third-termism” that incumbents have used to extend their term in office with the appearance of legality. However, the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have often remained silent. The article argues that the AU and ECOWAS policy of sanctioning coups until the return to the constitutional order is not sufficient, as coups are still happening in the region today. Instead, international regional organisations should pay more attention to the necessary institutional reforms that are needed to guarantee the democratisation process of African States and must have a stronger response to constitutional coups by adopting targeted sanctions against the individuals responsible for these acts.