Gabon’s Balancing Act | Council on Foreign Relations

While many coup leaders seek legitimacy via external recognition (recent tours of Sudan’s warring generals come to mind), Gen. Nguema’s tactics are notable for two reasons. First, his public actions indicate a remarkable difference between Gabon’s coup aftermath and its Sahelian counterparts, which are regularly lumped together in the popular “coup contagion” narrative. While the Sahel’s junta leaders of Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, and Mali have largely isolated themselves from regional organizations like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and often disparage international institutions, democracy, and the West, Gen. Nguema has sought out a wide array of partners and called on them to re-admit Gabon to global institutions. He has argued repeatedly that his actions will preserve and improve the country’s democracy, “reorganizing [institutions] in order to make them more democratic and more in line with international standards… for human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law.”