[2][3][4][5] Following the 2023 Nigerien coup, these countries form a continuous chain stretching between the east and west coasts of Africa.

[6] The coups have largely been similar in nature; most came from dissatisfied militaries who criticised their respective government's handling of Islamic insurgents or protests since 2003.

[7] The incoming juntas tend to have worse relations with the West, with many seeking support from either Russia and the Wagner Group or Turkey instead of France, which previously helped the countries fight against Islamic insurgents through Operation Barkhane.

[8][9] Although likely older,[11][12] the term became popular in the 2020s after a string of coups in the early part of the decade, including in Mali in 2020 and 2021,[13] Chad,[6] Guinea,[14] and Sudan[15] in 2021, two in Burkina Faso in January and September 2022,[16][17] and in Niger and Gabon in 2023.

[28] For this subregion where many countries have a history of civil war and violent conflict, this was a period of remarkable stability during which ECOWAS even managed to find a peaceful resolution to the 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis.