Two regions, two paths

The paper contrasts the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) successful intervention against a military-backed dynastic succession in Togo with the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) 'hands-off approach' to political suppression and electoral irregularities in Zimbabwe.

• ECOWAS took a decisive and unanimous stand against the unconstitutional installation of Faure Gnassingbe as president of Togo following the death of his father, forcing him to step down and schedule elections for 24 April.
• In contrast to ECOWAS, SADC has adopted a policy of 'constructive engagement' and 'silent diplomacy' regarding Zimbabwe, failing to pressure President Robert Mugabe to meet agreed-upon election benchmarks despite systematic suppression of liberties.
• Zimbabwe has failed to implement several SADC election benchmarks prior to its 31 March elections, including ending political violence, disbanding youth militias, providing equal state media access, auditing the voters' roll, and deploying SADC observers.
• The author concludes that while ECOWAS demonstrates a refusal to tolerate unconstitutional rulers, SADC applies its democratic principles selectively among its member states.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2006). Two regions, two paths. https://saiia.org.za/research/two-regions-two-paths/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Two regions, two paths. 2006. https://saiia.org.za/research/two-regions-two-paths/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Two regions, two paths |date=30 April 2006 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/two-regions-two-paths/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2006two, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Two regions, two paths}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2006}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/two-regions-two-paths/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }