MILITARY INTERVENTION IN GOVERNANCE: A CASE STUDY OF NIGER REPUBLIC 2014-2024

This research explores the consequences of military intervention in governance within the Niger Republic from 2014 to 2024, emphasizing its effects on political stability, economic performance, human rights, and regional security. Grounded in Rational Choice Theory (RCT), the study explains the actions of military and political elites as calculated decisions aimed at maximizing personal or institutional interests under specific constraints (Becker, 1976; Arrow, 1983). The theory helps to illuminate how military actors justify interventions as solutions to governance failures, even while often exacerbating the very issues they claim to resolve. The study adopts a qualitative research design, using content analysis of secondary data drawn from scholarly publications, policy documents, NGO reports, and international agency archives. Through a historical and comparative approach, the research examined multiple cases of military intervention in the region, particularly focusing on the 2023 coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. The major finding reveals that military interventions, though often framed as responses to corruption and instability, have in fact deepened political repression, disrupted economic activities, worsened poverty levels, and triggered serious humanitarian crises One key recommendation of this study is that regional bodies such as ECOWAS must shift from reactionary military threats to proactive diplomatic engagement and local capacity building in order to prevent unconstitutional changes of government. This includes supporting democratic institutions, enhancing transparency, and addressing structural inequalities that often create the conditions for coups. By strengthening both national and regional mechanisms for conflict resolution, sustainable peace and democratic consolidation can be more effectively achieved in the Niger Republic and across West Africa.