Pub: IPRIS Policy Brief 2
This article is a first attempt of making sense of it all. Thus, it aims to review the facts in Guinea-Bissau so far and provide a brief prospective analysis regarding the chances of a successful SSR in the future. The first section describes the facts behind the military coup, as well as the domestic and international reactions, as they were expressed in the media. The next section assesses the possible implications of the military coup, namely regarding the future prospects of the SSR process, as well as Guinea-Bissau's commitment to the fight against drug trafficking. The third section provides a few policy recommendations regarding how the international community should react to the events that took place on 1 April. The article ends with a few final remarks. It is commonly agreed that the coup should not produce rewards and the perpetrators must be told so. Otherwise, the spiral of violence in Guinea-Bissau will never end. How to succeed in breaking this cycle of political and military instability, though, is the million-dollar question.
