The Cold War Resurgence: A Discourse on the Rivalry between ECOWAS and AES in West Africa

The Cold War, a descriptive of 45year (1945-1990) of ideological rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union, as well as their competing coalitions, which sought to contain each other‘s expansion and gain worldwide predominance has constituted one of the most notable events and a discourse topic in International Relations. Scholars have indicated the emergence of economic interdependence of states, the increasing need of societal security, environmental security, human security, the rise of capitalism and the role of non-states actors expounded within the various strands of liberal theory to have marked the end of realist/military construct of world politics that gained prominence during the Cold War. However, this research argues on the possible continuation of the old Cold War in the present contemporary era using the recent unfolding rivalry within the West African region as a case study. Recently, the Sahel region in West Africa has been confronted with political instability and security challenges, marked by the rise of insurgent movements, military coups and deteriorating state governance. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) was created in September 2023 by the three military juntas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso as a counterweight to ECOWAS and the postcolonial influence of France and other Western allies. With the adoption of qualitative research method, depending mainly on secondary sources, this research examines the possibility of the Cold War resurgence between the two opposing blocs in West Africa (ECOWAS and AES), the prospect of the region becoming a proxy battleground through the involvements of opposing international allies (western and anti-western allies).