Military Coups, Regime Change, and Interstate Conificts in West Africa

Abstract

This article examines regime types and the impact of military coups and regime change on conflicts among West African states. The main hypothesis tested is that radical regimes threaten the relatively stable but soft states; counterthreat measures result in conflict situations. Analysis is made of threat perception, the interrelatedness of coups d'état, regime change, and conflicts against the backdrop of the theories of linkage politics and political development. Indications are that interstate conflicts occur and are exacerbated with the emergence of radical-type military regimes, when conformist-type regimes are alarmed about the contagiousness of domestic turbulence. The linkage between domestic change and external conflict behavior is exemplified by the study; however, the subject deserves further exploration.