Greetings from California, once again. This week, we would like to highlight a recent coup attempt in the country of Benin. You may have seen a few articles about it earlier this week, and you might also have noticed that several of them present Benin as a model democracy for Africa. We at Fair Observer would like to examine both those claims, as we strive to inform you of essential stories.

Africa as a whole has been plagued by instability for generations, thanks to a host of factors, mostly stemming from European colonization. Last week, another chapter was added to that long tale. The small country of Benin, which has enjoyed relative stability for several decades now, experienced an attempted coup against the democratically elected government.

2025 Beninese coup attempt – Soldiers appear on Benin Television – Wikimedia, Commons

The attempted coup was stopped with relatively few casualties, and Patrice Talon, the president of Benin, declared the crisis over by the end of the day. Most of the conspirators were arrested, though the ringleader had escaped to neighboring Togo. All was put back into place, or as well as it could be. A fitting story for a nation often called a model democracy for Africa, in all of the headlines explaining the coup.

Or was it? Reportedly, Talon’s government has been growing more authoritarian for years and had snuffed out another coup attempt a year earlier. The region of West Africa has experienced a large number of military coups in recent years, with democratic norms being overthrown with military force.

In a global context, democracy seems to be losing the battle against authoritarianism, even in places where it was never “supposed to happen”, like in the US. While Benin was fortunate not to suffer such an overt fate, the mere fact that something so loud happened at all is cause for concern. Furthermore, is this a signal that Benin’s democracy is already in decline?

A brief overview of Benin’s history

Benin is a small country in western sub-Saharan Africa. Like many countries in the region, it is home to a host of ethnic groups that were forced together during the colonization of Africa. Like many countries in the region, the most prominent religions are Christianity and Islam, with Christians more populous in the southern coastal regions and Islam more popular in the northern areas.

And like many countries in the region, it was a former French colony that gained independence in the 1960s. However, economic instability and ethnic tensions caused the new republic to fracture, resulting in six separate military coups in less than a decade.

Then, in 1972, one final coup d’état led by Mathieu Kérékou turned Benin into a firm Marxist-Leninist military dictatorship for decades. In 1990, Kérékou, seeing the collapse of the Soviet world order, declared that the state was no longer a dictatorship and transitioned the nation into a democracy. Kérékou lost the first presidential election to a former cabinet member, though he later served two terms, from 1996 to 2006.

Increasing tumult

Benin continued on in relative stability, though the 2010s proved increasingly tumultuous. The 2011 presidential election was postponed twice due to difficulty registering all eligible voters, something the state did not complete in time for the final election. In 2012, President Thomas Yayi accused a former ally of attempting to poison him, then-businessman Patrice Talon, who fled to France.

In 2013, Benin’s police announced they had foiled another coup attempt that also implicated Talon. Eventually, through mediation by French President François Hollande and Abdou Diouf, the former president of Senegal, Yayi pardoned Talon and several other members of the alleged coup. Then, in 2015, Yayi faced massive protests against him, with many believing he was trying to amend the constitution to allow a third term, a claim he denied.

After all that tumult and confusion, Patrice Talon won the 2016 presidential election on a platform of sweeping out government corruption, promising to only serve one term and even pushing for a constitutional amendment to set the promise in stone. Ultimately, the single-term amendment failed, and Talon seemed to reverse course.

Political opponents began to be jailed for various charges. Critics say many of Talon’s policies only benefit himself, such as putting his former personal lawyer in charge of the Constitutional Court and stacking the legislature with loyalists. The 2021 election, in which Talon won with 86% of the vote, was marked with reports of violence in the streets and a boycott call from opposition parties.

Sources:

Benin – Precolonial, Colonial, Independence | Britannica

Benin president pardons ‘poison-plot’ businessman who fled to France | RFI

Benin vote count begins after opposition groups boycott election | Elections News | Al Jazeera

“Patrice Talon wants to transform Benin into a vast limited liability company of which he would be the sole shareholder.” | Le Monde

Benin parliament rejects bill aiming to reduce presidential terms | Reuters

The coup attempt

On December 7, a group of Beninese soldiers attempted to overthrow the government, attacking the president and seizing control of the national television station to announce their coup and the end of the current government. They ultimately failed, and the fighting quickly came to an end due to a combination of loyal Beninese forces and allied Nigerian military units. A few short hours later, Talon was on air announcing the coup had ended.

The would-be rebels, calling themselves the Comité Militaire pour la Refondation (CMR), reportedly made this attempt out of frustration with the state’s inability to stop Jihadists in the northern regions of Benin and the reported callousness of Talon’s government towards its own soldiers.

Sources:

Benin government says short-lived coup left casualties on both sides | AP

A coup too far: Why Benin’s rebel soldiers failed where others in the region succeeded | BBC

Benin’s foiled coup: How it unfolded and what we know | Explainer News | Al Jazeera

Jihadist insurgency in Northern Benin | Wikipedia

A region of instability

As mentioned previously, Benin is not the only West African nation to suffer from military coups in recent years. If this attempt had been successful, it would have marked the ninth successful overthrow in the region in five years. In fact, the region is so prone to political instability that some have dubbed it the “coup belt”.

While the reasons for these coups always vary, they usually follow a similar pattern: militaries dissatisfied with the civilian government, sometimes due to domestic troubles and sometimes due to frustrations with Jihadist insurgents, which are a chronic problem in the region. With such a track record of success in recent years, the would-be CMR likely felt emboldened by their contemporaries’ victories.

Sources:

Coup Belt | Wikipedia

Towards the future

And so the coup failed, like many before it. Democracy prevailed, and relative peace was restored to the nation in short order. Most of the insurgents were killed or captured, with a few escaping into neighboring countries. The Beninese Republic was tested, but it endured where so many of its contemporaries failed.

Or did it? Talon’s government has made drastic changes to the republic’s nature in its ten years in power. Political opponents are pushed down and excluded. The courts are packed. Voter turnout, once hovering at 67%, has fallen to less than 30%. Parliament was altered to only allow loyalists.

And so Talon, who began his political career as a businessman who promised to clean up corruption and improve the economy, has become the richest man in the nation with nearly unchecked power. People who criticize him are jailed, and threats to his power are swept away. While Talon has said he will not run for a third term, his favored successor faces little opposition, with one opposing candidate not having “sufficient sponsors” to run.

While Benin’s military coup did not succeed in installing a dictator, it is already dangerously close to having one.

Sources:

Benin’s real coup already happened under President Talon | Al Jazeera

With Benin elections near, failed coup shakes democracy | DW

Benin’s president condemns a foiled coup attempt | AP News