Unconstitutional dynamics in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa: Moving beyond an idealized vision of the constitutional order—The case of presidential successions in Togo and Senegal

Respect for and implementation of constitutions in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa have been the subject of much controversy in the literature. The dominant discourse revolves around non-compliance with constitutions, and is typified by references to either “the breakdown of” or “the return to” the constitutional order. Built on the axiom that order is the foundation of law, this vision, however, reveals certain flaws. The political sociology of law, as a theoretical framework based on the crisis between law and political legitimacy, allows for an analysis of the intersecting and unique trajectories of constitutionalism in sub-Saharan Africa. Struggles over presidential succession have provided the empirical context for observation since 1990.