The optimism Angolan president João Lourenço’s election generated four years ago has dwindled as electoral promise after another have failed to materialise.
The militarisation of the Zimbabwean government raises serious questions about who really wields political power - President Emmerson Mnangagwa or army leaders.
Mujahid Safodien/AFP via Getty Images
The extent of democracy capture varies markedly between countries. It’s much higher in states such as Zimbabwe, where the government has never changed hands.
Members of Guinea’s special forces are seen outside the Palace of the People in Conakry, Guinea, Sept. 6, 2021.
Photo by Xinhua via Getty Images
Chieftaincy conflicts in northern Ghana have hindered development in the country.
King Letsie III of Lesotho. Frustration with politicians has led to a rise in popularity of the monarchy in recent times.
CChris Jackson via Getty Images
A monarch with absolute powers is just as dangerous as self-serving politicians in a democracy.
Supporters of the M5 opposition movement show their support for the military junta, calling for a new and inclusive Mali in Bamako in June.
EFE-EPA/Hadama Diakite
Zambia’s new president will have to balance austerity and the high expectations of the many unemployed young people and struggling people who voted for him.
Tanzania opposition party leader Freeman Mbowe (centre) after being released from prison in Dar es Salaam in 2020.
Photo by Ericky Boniphace/AFP via Getty Images
Despite the relative political stability over the years, Tanzania needs a new constitution to address contemporary challenges and strengthen institutions.
The full benefits of a majoritarian democracy are undermined by a winner takes all approach.
Jonathan Ernst/Flickr
Frelimo, which governs Mozambique, has squandered the enormous political capital it enjoyed at independence. It now remains in power through violence, intimidation, harassment, and threats.
South African soldiers interrogate a pedestrian outside a mall in Soweto.
Photo by Emmanuel Croset/AFP via Getty Images
After 1994 efforts were made to embed democracy. The focus was on policy and institution-building. What was missing was ensuring all South Africans were on board.
King Mswati III of eSwatini, Africa’s last absolute monarch, is facing growing demands for democracy and rule of law.
EPA-EFE/Yeshiel Panchia
There is more support for democracy among African people than is often recognised. Yet this can be undermined by election rigging and is lower in countries like Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa.
A queue of eager voters in Hawassa, Ethiopia, during the Sidama referendum in November 2019.
Photo by Michael Tewelde/AFP via Getty Images
Ethiopian history shows that the demands of its young people can’t go unaddressed for long.
Taking a selfie during the #ENDSARS protest in Lagos in 2020. Social media was used extensively to mobilise demontrators.
Adekunle Ajayi/NurPhoto via Getty Images
President Muhammadu Buhari’s Twitter shutdown will be hard to enforce and could have dire consequences for Nigeria’s fragile democratic institutions and economy.
Mahamat Idriss Deby, right, greets his brother Zakaria during the state funeral for their father Chadian President Idriss Deby.
Christophe Petit/AFP via Getty Images
The recent spate of military takeovers, most recently in Chad, highlights a developing trend by armed forces in Africa which overtly subvert constitutional governance.
Protesters descended on the seat of government in 2017 to demand former South African president Jacob Zuma resign.
EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
To build a political culture that supports democracy in South Africa, civic education needs to move beyond voter education.
Hundreds of Namibians protested against growing gender-based violence in October 2020. The Afrikaans wording on the placard says ‘We are tired’.
Hildegard Titus/AFPvia Getty Images)
The legitimacy of SWAPO, the former liberation movement that has governed since 1990, has been eroded amid growing corruption and a deepening economic crisis.
Joseph Kazibwe, with his wife Magere, listen to radio updates of the Uganda presidential election result in January 2021.
Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State