The security system in Niger has weakened due to ongoing conflicts. The absence of a stable government prevents the successful distribution of public services, strong democracy, and peacekeeping from taking place. The central government has taken advantage of the situation to weaken the opposition and infringe on democratic processes. To intensify the issue, conflicts in neighboring countries make fighting extremism difficult.
In Niger, two of the three forms of democratic backsliding outlined by Bermeo have occurred. In addition to an executive coup in 2010, there were two alleged attempts at promissory coups between 2015 and 2018 to overthrow President Mahamadou Issoufou. Although Issoufou’s administration claims that those coup attempts happened, they have yet to present evidence and the incidents remain hearsay to the public. In Niger, the president is limited to two five-year terms. Between 2009 and 2010, President Tandja attempted to extend his presidential term. He wanted to create a new constitution to extend his term; when the National Assembly and Constitutional court rejected this, Tandja dissolved them.
After the military coup in 2010, Niger successfully held democratic elections in 2011. The president was even re-elected for another five-year term in 2016. However, according to Freedom House, “The elections themselves were plagued with irregularities including vote-buying, underage voting, and rigging of election results”. Elected officials have impeded attempts by the opposition to participate in government by having them imprisoned on suspicious charges. Even more so, the suspected coups of 2015 and 2018 have not been proven. The government of Niger has presented this information, but most other sources are unable to confirm it occurred or why. Citizens do criticize their government, but brutal crackdowns may follow. This means that the voices of the people are not being heard and this behavior also discourages others from speaking out. It is very difficult to hold the government accountable.
The Libyan Civil War and Insurgency in Northern Mali have spilled over into Niger. Jihadist groups from neighboring countries take advantage of the conflict to spread their influence.
Due to marginalization by the Malian government, Tuareg people attempted rebellion and were sheltered by the Ghaddafi regime in Libya. The fall of his regime led to the expansion of extremists, Tuareg rebel groups who were able to take control of large areas of Mali. However, parts of Niger lack the projection of the central government, allowing these groups to use it as a base of operations.
The inability of the government to prevent attacks has led to the formation of militias. Unfortunately, these militias are formed along ethnoreligious lines. They also frequently engage in crimes such as human, drug, and arms trafficking. The government has proved unable to make lasting changes concerning security and jihadist groups. Nigerien armed forces are also targeted by jihadist groups. The security situation has deteriorated despite assistance from French armed forces. This has led to a security dilemma, where citizens increasingly form militias to protect themselves, yet it only escalates the violence.
The Issoufou administration has used instability to erode democracy and cannot combat the insurgency. The citizens of Niger have serious concerns about their safety and ability to participate in elections. Niger is also hosting refugees from Mali, Sudan, and northern Nigeria. Some of the refugees have been displaced multiple times. The problems in Niger mirror the issues in other Sahel countries. This is an issue for the Sahel region and the rest of North Africa.
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References
Bermeo, Nancy. 2016. “On Democratic Backsliding.” Journal of Democracy 27(1): pp.5-19.
https://sites.unimi.it/carbone/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Democratic-backsliding-Bermeo-JOD-2016.pdf
“Niger.” Niger | Freedom House, Freedom House, 11 June 2019, freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/niger.
Zandonini, Giacomo, and Francesco Bellina. “Niger, Part 1: At the Centre of a Brewing Militant Storm.” The New Humanitarian, 16 Apr. 2019, www.thenewhumanitarian.org/special-report/2019/03/28/niger-part-1-centre-brewing-militant-storm.
This was a very good article Brianna. It was very informative about what has gone on in Niger in it’s recent history. This is a country that doesn’t get much coverage on the international stage. Great examples of how its problems relate to the region’s issues as a whole including terrorism which is very important to everyone. Keep up the good work.
Hi Brianna ! I found this article super informative. It’s sad to see so many countries follow a similar trajectory when it comes to backsliding. Any time a leader tries to extend his or her term limits past two terms, it seems like a huge red flag. The issue of 2 alleged Coup’s I also found rather interesting. Using a coup to further erode democracy sounds like opportunistic erosion to me, but fabricating the whole coup seems like intentional erosion. I think when we look at situations such as this, it seems so unrealistic that a government could claim the existence of two coup’s that the people largely doubt the actuality of. However, in third world countries, people priorities aren’t checking the government, and rightfully so. It’s hard to then judge if steps from outside actors should be taken to try and stabilize democracy. In my last class for this course we discussed citizens prioritizing Democracy over policy. We can see this play out with the 2020 election where some voters cast their ballot for Biden even though they may have been Republican, or more left leaning. In some scenarios though it’s difficult to ask people to keep the government accountable.
I did not know anything about President Mahamadou’s government or conflict in Niger before I read this article, so thank you for your article! It’s clear from what you have written that President Mahamadou is more concerned with expanding his own power than the best interest of Nigeriens. You mentioned that the National Assembly had been dissolved in 2010, but I wonder about the state of the courts? I assume that they are subject to his political manipulation based on the actions he’s taken already to secure his long-term rule. Jihadist terrorism is a national security threat that Western states take seriously. In the Sahel, these groups are gaining territory, members, and resources. When governments turn their backs on their citizens for personal and/or elite gain, it drives their citizens to accept jihadist rule. Citizens will accept the authority of whoever can protect them. As you mentioned in the article, the Nigerien forces that are fighting back the jihadist groups are ethnoreligious militias. These groups will be more likely to protect their people, leaving minorities vulnerable. They also reinforce division within the country, making it more susceptible to coming under the rule of terrorist groups. There is a similar situation unfolding in Burkina Faso where jihadist groups are gaining territory and ethnically-based militias are responding. There must be a unified government response to expel the groups from Niger. If the international community wants to fight terrorism, it must prioritize sanctioning governments that are not accountable to their people. You also noted that in Mali and Libya, conflict and instability has bred these groups, so even if Niger expels them, they can retreat to these countries. Perhaps it would require a regional response to cease the spread of these groups. Unless Niger stops their spread, they will continue to gain territory and grow into other states and destabilize the region further. This issue crosses borders, so there needs to be international conversations to solve it.