Between 1952 and 2012, there were a total of 88 successful military coups in Africa. Of those, 63 occurred prior to 1990, and 10 cases since the adoption, by the defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU), of the Lomé Declaration in July 2000, banning military coups and adopting sanctions against regimes born out of this. The article shows that the African Union (AU) has followed in the footsteps of the OAU in this regard. Assisted by some African regional organisations and international partners, the combined effect of this policy of the AU – assisted by other factors – has been a significant reduction in the occurrence of this phenomenon. While not constituting a funeral arrangement for military coups in the immediate future, these developments – if they were to continue – may indeed make this eventuality achievable in the long run. But the article also reveals some challenges the AU is facing in ensuring this.

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The popular adage has it that 'prevention is better than cure'. Given the heavy and enduring costs of armed confl icts, there is no disputing the fact that making efforts to prevent them from breaking out in the fi rst place is better than waiting until it is too late. This entails two things: confl ict prevention measures and early warning systems. Anything that could be done to effectively address the root causes of a confl ict before it turns violent may fi t into the former, while the latter aims to identify threats to these elements so that effective confl ict prevention measures can be taken. In other words, ensuring 'human security' is the thrust of the former, while the latter serves as a surveillance camera for any defi cit in providing the different components of this 'human security'. It is with these two important issues that this essay deals, with particular reference to West Africa.

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Aux trois dames les plus chères de ma vie, Ma mère, mon épouse et ma fille. Aux mémoires de mon père, de mon grand-père homonyme, et de ma grand-mère maternelle.