Mauritania, August 2005: Justice and democracy, or just another coup?

Abstract

A military coup abruptly ended Ould Taya's authoritarian regime in Mauritania, one of the longest-running regimes in West Africa. The bloodless coup broke a dangerous political impasse and stopped what seemed to be a slide towards breakdown and violence. Using the democratization literature, this article explains its root causes and evaluates the prospects for the establishment of a genuine democracy after two decades of a repressive military and then quasi-military regime. It argues that several variables combined to seal the regime's fate. These are essentially the deeply flawed, tribally based, make-believe democracy, Ould Taya's own troubled personality, and finally, the security apparatus's withdrawal of its backing. The article also argues that the new military junta's first decisions appear encouraging enough but that its determination to keep a tight control over the transition process and avoid the fundamental aspects of Mauritania's malaise may jeopardize genuine long-term democratization. ON 3 AUGUST 2005, MAURITANIANSAWOKETOACOMMUNIQUiANNOUNCINGTHE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION of yet another coup d'etat in arguably the most unstable region in Africa. As the international community tepidly decried the coup and called for a return of constitutional order, Mauritanians, overwhelmingly, welcomed it with relief and high expectations. The coup has created a situation where potential to embark on a democratic experiment at last coexists with the risks of missing yet another opportunity to do so. Despite the high hopes raised, will this coup produce another disappointing aborted democratization in a region where, in the words of a keen observer of the process since its early days, 'democracy has taken a beating?'1 It is important to understand how, in 2005, a military coup could elicit so much hope and be all but validated by the African Union (AU) and the wider international community despite their zero tolerance of unconstitutional changes of power. When it comes to military coups, Africa so far offers essentially two diametrically opposed models. One is the Robert Guei model in C6te d'Ivoire Boubacar N'Diaye (e-mail: bndiaye@wooster.edu) teaches at the College of Wooster, OH, USA. 1. Julius O. Ihonvbere, 'A balance sheet of Africa's transition to democratic governance', in John Mbaku and Julius O. Ihonvbere (eds), The Transition to Democratic Governance in Africa (Praeger, Westport, CT, 2003), p. 51.