The Coup d'État in Niger and its Impact on Stability in the Sahel

The coup in Niamey has exacer­bated the security situation in Niger and the Sahel region, to the detri­ment of the civilian popu­lation in particular. Until re­cently, Niger was regarded in Germany and Europe as an ‘anchor of sta­bility’ in the Sahel, but now the foreign policy view of the country is character­ized by increasing con­cern.

On November 10, the conse­quences of the coup in Niamey for current develop­ments in Niger and the region were examined at a parlia­mentary break­fast in the German Bundes­tag and possible options for action for German and European foreign policy were dis­cussed. Simone Schnabel and Philipp Goldberg, Head of the FES Compe­tence Center for Peace and Security in Dakar, were also present. The event was orga­nized by Dr. Karamba Diaby, Member of Parlia­ment for the SPD and member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Eco­nomic Coope­ration and Develop­ment, in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

On Sep­tember 26, Antonia Witt and Simone Schnabel took part in an expert ex­change on the topic of “Failed? What does the coup in Niger tell us?” at the Federal Foreign Office. To­gether with Lisa Tschörner from the German Insti­tute for Inter­national and Security Affairs, they discussed the conse­quences of the coup for the Sahel region against the back­drop of the country case study “Peace Policy Cohe­rence in German Govern­ment Action - Lessons from Mali and Niger” pub­lished in September 2022 by the Advi­sory Board on Civilian Crisis Prevention and Peace­building.