Enter Captain Camara. Coming from a smaller ethnic group known as Guerze, he was able to draw a power base from his people with which to launch the coup.

The situation was not dissimilar in Guinea-Bissau. The coup leader there, General Batista Tagme Na Waie, Chief of Staff of Guinea-Bissau's armed forces, and President Vieira were also from different ethnic groups. General Na Waie had criticized the policies of President Vieira on many occasions. In fact, their conflicts had long been known to the public.

Endemic poverty, high-level corruption and stagnant economic development, of course, also fuel instability.

Statistics tell the story. Niger, for instance, ranked the lowest in terms of the Human Development Index among the 182 countries listed in the UN's Human Development Report 2009.

Indeed, before the coup, the people of Niger had long lost any confidence they might have had in their leadership. Instead, many hoped that an insurrection might oust their incompetent government. This provided a social base for the military coup.

The rebelling soldiers used this to their moral advantage by chanting slogans advocating the elimination of corruption and the implementation of good governance.

The often absolute rule wielded by African leaders—sometimes known as the "Big Man" syndrome—is very often a huge motivation behind the coups. In some countries, their authority is far higher than that of their Western counterparts in almost every sense—dictatorial, that is.

Military coups are often quite easy to execute in Africa. In fact, sometimes, hundreds—or even dozens—of soldiers can carry out a coup in a couple of hours.

Progress

In the past, in the aftermath of a coup, the military would traditionally assume power. But today, the situation is different. Although the problem of military interference in the political arena remains, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain military rule in Africa.

In most of the recent coups, for instance, civil society prevailed, after the military allowed for the restoration of constitutional order and the rule of law. Rather, it has become quite difficult to preserve long-term military governance.

Take Mauritania. After a military coup in 2008, a new government was formed through elections that were supervised by the international community.

In Guinea, after Captain Camara betrayed an earlier pledge not to run for the presidency, opposition members staged massive protests in 2009.

Despite his soldiers' brutal suppression of the demonstrators, Captain Camara would later formally agree to return Guinea to civilian rule.

In Niger, after the February coup, the army promised the international community that it would restore constitutional order and hold elections as soon as possible.

These developments have signified an encouraging change for Africa. On the one hand, thanks to the steady progress in democratization, African people have grown more resistant to authoritarian military regimes. On the other, Africa's internal supervision mechanisms have played a significant role.

In 2002, the African Union (AU) officially replaced the 39-year-old Organization of African Unity. Since then, it has carried out a series of reforms to enhance political stability throughout the continent. The collective security principles of Africa have since improved markedly from "non-intervention" to "non-indifference."

The AU has also established the Peace and Security Council as the decision-making and executive body for preventing, controlling and resolving conflicts in Africa. Its stated purpose is to promote peace, security and stability in Africa, while encouraging democratic practices, good governance and the rule of law.

These changes have, for the first time, enabled a regional African organization to legally intervene in domestic crises of its member states. They have also helped resolve long-standing disagreements over principles regarding collective intervention versus national sovereignty.

Moreover, African regional organizations—from the AU to the Economic Community of West African States and the Southern African Development Community—refuse to recognize military rule. Apart from suspending the membership of countries where coups have taken place, these organizations can also impose targeted sanctions against coup leaders and their supporters.

In addition, under the new guidelines, the AU may also request that the UN, the EU and other international organizations sever aid to countries where coups have taken place—thus preventing any coup leadership from effectively assuming power. Andry Rajoelina, Madagascar's current President who assumed power through a coup, thus leads a country that is in a state of diplomatic isolation.

Life is now far more difficult for African military rulers these days. Hopefully this trend will, over time, help improve the political environment in Africa, thus enabling the continent to focus on more critical issues like economic development.

The author is an assistant research fellow with the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations