African Union Suspends Burkina Faso, Then Reinstates it Again (Map)

Article by Evan CentanniCoup Crisis
On September 18, Burkina Faso was suspended from the African Union
(AU) by the organization's Peace and Security Council. The action was
in response to a government takeover by soldiers loyal to the country's
former president Blaise Compaore, who was pushed out in a popular
uprising a year ago.

A military coup usually gets a country automatically suspended and sanctioned by the Peace and Security Council, which aims to promote constitutional rule in all AU member countries. (This pro-democracy policy has no affect
on dictatorships that are already long-established.)

Resolution & Reinstatement
In a quick resolution to the crisis, Burkina Faso's coup was over just a week after it started; the internationally-supported president was released from custody, and the coup leader stepped down apologetically after popular protests and mediation by neighboring countries. The AU Peace and Security Council, which is always in session, responded by lifting Burkina Faso's suspension on September 26.

What is the African Union?
Formed launched in 2002 as a replacement for the earlier Organization of African Unity (OAU), the AU is an intergovernmental organization that works on increasing cooperation, stability, and development within the continent of Africa. The organization is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Ethiopia is the only African country that the European empires were never able to colonize, and is also the second most populous country in Africa.)

Compared to the neighboring European Union (EU), the AU is only a loose forum for cooperation between its member countries. AU members do not have an integrated economic system, union-wide laws, or shared foreign policy, though further integration is a possibility for the future.