AMAMIHE Journal of Applied Philosophy

The recurrence of coup d’etat in West Africa continues to pose a profound challenge to democratic governance and political stability in the region. While military takeovers are often justified as corrective responses to civilian misrule, corruption, or institutional failure, their normative legitimacy and long-term democratic value remain deeply contested. Using the method of analysis, this paper offers a philosophical examination of coup d’etat in West Africa through the lens of Karl Popper’s political philosophy, particularly his conception of the open society and democratic governance. Drawing on Popper’s critique of historicism, political messianism, and revolutionary social engineering, the paper argues that coups are symptomatic of institutional closure rather than genuine mechanisms of democratic correction. From a Popperian perspective, democracy is valued not for the moral superiority of rulers but for its capacity to remove bad governments through non-violent, institutionalised procedures. The paper finds that the erosion of such corrective mechanisms (manifested in weakened electoral systems, compromised judicial independence, and restricted spaces for political criticism) creates conditions under which military intervention is perceived as a substitute for democratic accountability. However, far from restoring openness, coups further entrench political closure and undermine the principle of institutional correctability central to Popper’s open society. The paper concludes by advancing Popperian solutions to democratic fragility in West Africa, emphasizing piecemeal institutional reform, the protection of critical dissent, and the strengthening of constitutional mechanisms as sustainable alternatives to military intervention.

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