Publication

This article explores the efforts by the East African Community (EAC) to stabilize Burundi since the 2014 crisis precipitated by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s desire for a third term in office. The text’s author ultimately concludes that 1) the EAC recognized early on that a crisis was looming, but it waited too long to act; 2) the 13 May 2015 coup attempt in Burundi further split the EAC and undermined its stance toward the country’s troubles; and 3) the most successful aspect of the EAC’s intervention may have been its attempt to promote dialogue between key Burundian parties – but then again, nearly two years after it was first mooted it has yet to make tangible progress.