Spared by the spread of violent extremism in the Sahel until 2015, Burkina Faso has since continued to spiral further into violence and instability. In this context, the military coup conducted on 24 January 2022 emerged as the culmination of the population’s growing discontent with the state’s capacity to find adequate responses to counter terrorism. This perspective analyses what this new military takeover, the latest in a series of political upheavals throughout the region, reveals about the strategy adopted by Burkinabe authorities so far, as well as the potential impact of the coup on the evolution of the violent extremist threat across the region looking forward.