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  • President Tinubu May Benefit from a Weak Opposition in Nigeria, But his Party Will Not
  • The Côte d’Ivoire elections: Political farce or new chapter of uncertainty?
  • Raila Odinga: the man who changed Kenya without ever ruling it
  • Military coups in Africa: a shortcut to development?
  • Civilian Support for Military Coups Isn’t a Bug – It’s a Feature
  • Tunisia’s young democracy flounders as its president wins a second term
  • What role for democracy in a multipolar world?
  • The Strategy Behind a Strengthening Somali-Turkish Alliance
  • Unraveling the Roots of Violent Extremism in Sudan: Challenges and Pathways to Peace    
  • Does donor support to civil society organizations help in the fight against corruption in Africa – and how can it be improved?
Democracy in Africa

Democracy in Africa

A Resource for the Study of Democracy in Africa

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  • Decolonizing the Academy Reading List
  • President Tinubu May Benefit from a Weak Opposition in Nigeria, But his Party Will Not
  • The Côte d’Ivoire elections: Political farce or new chapter of uncertainty?
  • Raila Odinga: the man who changed Kenya without ever ruling it
  • Military coups in Africa: a shortcut to development?
  • Civilian Support for Military Coups Isn’t a Bug – It’s a Feature
  • Tunisia’s young democracy flounders as its president wins a second term
  • What role for democracy in a multipolar world?
  • The Strategy Behind a Strengthening Somali-Turkish Alliance
  • Unraveling the Roots of Violent Extremism in Sudan: Challenges and Pathways to Peace    
  • Does donor support to civil society organizations help in the fight against corruption in Africa – and how can it be improved?
Democracy in Africa

Democracy in Africa

A Resource for the Study of Democracy in Africa

  • COUNTRY
    • CENTRAL
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Chad
      • Democratic Republic of Congo
      • Equatorial Guinea
    • EAST
      • Burundi
      • Djibouti
      • Comoros
      • Eritrea
      • Ethiopia
      • Kenya
      • Rwanda
      • Somalia
      • South Sudan
      • Seychelles
      • Sudan
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      • Uganda
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      • Egypt
      • Libya
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  • THEME
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    • Human Rights
    • Identities
    • Institutions
    • Gender
    • Media
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    • Popular Culture
  • FEATURES
    • Ideas in African Politics (IDAP)
    • Book Club
    • Prof. Nic Cheeseman
  • RESOURCES
    • Decolonizing the Academy Reading List
    • Decolonizing the Commentariat Contact List
  • ABOUT
    • About Us
    • Meet The Team
  • Contact Us
    • Contribute
  • Decolonizing the Academy Reading List
Headlines
  • Climate change may be fuelling a resurgence of piracy across Africa

  • The Niassa region of Mozambique

    Mozambique’s protected enclave: What Niassa reveals about the war

  • The Overlooked Ways Digital Disruption Is Reshaping African Democracy

  • Imperial Nostalgia: History, Sovereignty, and the Unfinished Work of Decolonization in the Horn of Africa

  • Sishuwa Sishuwa

    Global Academics Call on Zambian Government to Reinstate Sishuwa Sishuwa’s Passport

  • Ghana’s Chief Justice Saga Is Over. Judicial Fragility Is Not

The Niassa region of Mozambique
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Mozambique’s protected enclave: What Niassa reveals about the war

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The Overlooked Ways Digital Disruption Is Reshaping African Democracy

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Imperial Nostalgia: History, Sovereignty, and the Unfinished Work of Decolonization in the Horn of Africa

Sishuwa Sishuwa
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Global Academics Call on Zambian Government to Reinstate Sishuwa Sishuwa’s Passport

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Ghana’s Chief Justice Saga Is Over. Judicial Fragility Is Not

On February 6, 2025, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema held a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Official Residence/CREDIT: Cabinet Public Relations Office of the Cabinet Secretariat
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Zambia’s Problematic Election: The Questions That Won’t Go Away

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Another War is Starting in the Horn of Africa

The Parliament of Sierra Leone/CREDIT: https://www.parliament.gov.sl/
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Why Sierra Leone Should Retain the First Past the Post (FPTP) Constituency System

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Zambia’s Quiet Campaign Masks a Competitive Election

Malian soldiers in Bamako during 2012 coup/CREDIT: Magharebia
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States Without Presence: Geography, Language, and the Architecture of African Instability

On November 25, 2024, Uganda's Defence Force Commander General Muhoozi Kainerugaba met with Japan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hisayuki Fujii at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building/CREDIT: 外務省.
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Has Uganda transitioned to “Muhoozi rule”? How Museveni’s son became the centre of power

Nigeria's EndSARS protests/CREDIT: Asokeretope
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The Tyrant and the Con in Nigerian Politics

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  • Angola
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5 days ago5 days ago

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Straight Lines but Messy History: A Look at Africa’s Land Borders – ex parte musings - #BookClub: Cosmopolitanism, State Sovereignty, International Law and Politics in Africa

[…] they had imposed their system of political governance on Africa without any regard for the “sociological and ethnological factors or knowledge about the socio-cultural characteristics of the c…”, such as understanding “sovereignty” in a more fluid manner, rather than being fixated on […]

Opiyo Erick - Has Uganda transitioned to “Muhoozi rule”? How Museveni’s son became the centre of power

Maybe Muhoozi will the next president of Uganda after his father since country fail to have elected president

Warnakulasooriya - Three major lessons from a year of elections in Nigeria

This is a very insightful analysis of the Nigerian electoral system. True democratic progress can only happen when ordinary citizens have a voice and transparent data to hold institutions accountable. Ahead of the 2027 cycle, platform initiatives like PollTraceNG (https://polltraceng.com) are exactly what we need to increase citizen engagement and securely report insights. Empowering voters directly is key to restoring trust in our elections. Thank you for this great read!.

artisanwildly8cd9fe8ba0 - eSwatini: Monarchy turns on students, children, as repression mounts

Diverting Public Funds to the Royal Budget • The R 9,600 Million Allocation: The national budget directed roughly R9,600 million in public funds to "Statutory Expenditure" to finance the royal family's lavish lifestyle. • Extravagant Jubilee Spending: Over R300 million was spent directly out of public funds to celebrate King Mswati III's 40th year on the throne. Critics noted this triggered a serious national cash flow crisis, leaving domestic suppliers unpaid and delaying standard public salary reviews. • Acute Shortage of food, medicines and fuel: Public fund and foreign donations are syphoned out by Royal Family causing acute shortage of medicines and food. • Closure of private companies: Many business organization are closed because of extortion of money by Royal Family members resulting in large scale job-lose. • Unprecedented Personal Raises: Reports from The Nation Magazine detailed a personal R50 million salary increase awarded to the King, stoking public anger over crumbling health infrastructure and widespread youth unemployment. • Corporate Corruption and Natural Resources • Gold Smuggling and "Swazi Secrets": A massive cross-border leak via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) exposed Eswatini as a major conduit for southern African gold smuggling. Millions of dollars are routinely funneled through royal-linked gold refiners to Dubai by exploiting systemic tax loopholes and royal immunity. • Extortion of Foreign Investors: The King's immediate children—known as the Emazinyane—and senior royal protocol officers face accusations of hijacking lucrative government supply chains and demanding millions in bribes from foreign mining firms. • Judiciary system misused: Royal family members are protected by the judiciary system and the judiciary system help the royal family members for extortion and stealing Private and public companies fund thereby bankrupting many companies. • The Pride Oasis Bankruptcy: Reports implicating King Mswati's son, Prince Majaha, allege that royal pressure was used to illegally manipulate local courts, seize control of the private firm Pride Oasis Pty Ltd, and drain E26 million from its corporate accounts, driving the foreign investment into bankruptcy. Suppression of Dissent and Impunity • The Chilling Effect: Activists, independent journalists, and labor leaders face continuous surveillance and sudden arrests under the guise of national security. • Media Co-optation: Institutional accountability has weakened after major domestic media outlets, such as The Times of Eswatini, were purchased by wealthy, government-contracted businessmen married into the political elite, leaving international citizen journalism as the primary line of critique. • Widespread Hunger: Approximately 222,000 people in Eswatini are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. • Extreme Poverty: Roughly 59% to 60% of the population lives below the national poverty line. Children are disproportionately affected due to poverty. • Youth Unemployment: With youth unemployment estimated at 56% to 58%, leaving the majority of young people without viable economic prospects. • Healthcare Collapse: Public hospitals and local clinics regularly run out of critical medications. This forces citizens to go untreated and many die because of shortage of medicines. • Fuel Volatility: Increased fuel price have strained domestic logistics and driven up the price of basic food imports. • The stark divide between the lifestyle of King Mswati III and the struggles of ordinary citizens has long driven international scrutiny and domestic protests. • Fiscal Drainage: Millions of dollars from the national budget are routinely allocated to support the royal family’s luxury global travel, fleets of premium vehicles, and expensive state celebrations. Civil society groups argue that these allocations directly drain resources that should otherwise fund public health, education subsidies, and food security infrastructure.

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  • Conflict and Peacebuilding
5 days ago5 days ago

Mozambique’s protected enclave: What Niassa reveals about the war

  • digital democracy
  • Media
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The Overlooked Ways Digital Disruption Is Reshaping African Democracy

  • Authoritarian Regimes & Africa
  • Eritrea
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Imperial Nostalgia: History, Sovereignty, and the Unfinished Work of Decolonization in the Horn of Africa

  • digital democracy
  • Human Rights
3 weeks ago3 weeks ago

Global Academics Call on Zambian Government to Reinstate Sishuwa Sishuwa’s Passport

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The Niassa region of Mozambique

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