COMPRENDRE LA RECRUDESCENCE DES COUPS D’ETAT MILITAIRES EN AFRIQUE SUBSAHARIENNE

This article examines the resurgence of military coups in Africa as a political phenomenon embedded in contexts of institutional fragility, legitimacy crises of civilian regimes, and blocked democratic mechanisms. Drawing on both strategic interactionism and constructivist approaches, the study shows that military interventions result from calculated actions by actors operating in constrained environments, as well as from discursive efforts to legitimize power through narratives of national renewal. The analysis of transitional trajectories highlights a recurring tension between promises of rupture and dynamics of continuity, where military authorities gradually institutionalize themselves and reproduce some of the practices they initially opposed. Coups d’état thus appear less as stabilizing alternative mechanisms and more as indicators of structural dysfunctions in political orders, revealing the limitations of formal democratization processes and the need to strengthen civilian governance frameworks sustainably.