Yet, these movements have frequently been met with an equal and opposite reaction: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni cracked down on activists and implemented a social media ban; in Nigeria, protesters were massacred by army and police forces. April 23, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. EDT. Now, the central bank is back in the spotlight for its battle against inflation. This is thanks to an oil boom that enriched his family at the expense of the Equatorial Guinea citizens. However, in Central Africa and the Horn, almost all states are authoritarian. Russia, meanwhile, has long harbored plans to build a naval base capable of hosting up to 300 troops and four ships in Port Sudan, on a crucial Red Sea trading route for energy shipments to Europe. Its isolation deepened over the conflict in the western Darfur region in the 2000s, when Sudanese forces and the Janjaweed were accused of carrying out atrocities while suppressing a local rebellion. But the longer (the fighting) drags on the more likely it is we see major external intervention.. An appropriate example of this occurred in 2020 when Russian president Vladimir Putin and his party introduced amendments to the country's constitution that reworked term limits, enabling Putin to remain in power until 2036. Chad and South Sudan look most immediately at risk of potential spillover. By entering your email and clicking subscribe, you're agreeing to receive announcements from CFR about our products and services, as well as invitations to CFR events. [27] One-party rule also developed in several countries in Africa during decolonization in the 1960s and 1970s, some of which produced authoritarian regimes. by Olivia Angelino, Thomas J. Bollyky, Elle Ruggiero and Isabella Turilli November 8, 2022 Both the military and the public were outraged that their officers were not well-enough equipped or trained to withstand such an attack. Egypt has close ties to Sudans military, which it sees as an ally against Ethiopia. Millions of people across the Sahel region have been displaced, and thousands are dead and often, people say that politicians seem not to notice or care, driving fancy cars and sending their children to expensive foreign schools. In Sudan, for example, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against a military power grab in 2021 that undermined the supposed transition of power into civilian hands following the removal of long-time leader Omal al-Bashir in 2019. Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic) North Korea. By 2021 this had dropped to 84, yet nearly half of the world's population was still classified as 'at risk' of malaria. Authoritarian and semi-authoritarian rulers, mindful of foreign opinion, have dressed their regimes with the forms of democracy, such as regular (if rigged) elections and de jure (not de facto) separation of powers. Opposition figures including Tundu Lissu and Freeman Mbowe have called for a new constitution that limits presidential powers. On April 21, 1976, a group of four Greek Army colonels overthrew the caretaker government in a coup d'etat. There is this notion that bad elections are worse than no elections at all, said Ms. Moderan. Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces that grew out of Darfurs notorious Janjaweed militias, are each seeking to seize control of Sudan. The United Arab Emirates, a rising military power that has expanded its presence across the Middle East and East Africa, has close ties to the Rapid Support Forces, which sent thousands of fighters to aid the UAE This third annual report monitors global progress towards the 2023 target for global elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA), highlighting achievements from the past year. Annual Lecture on China. Facebook alsostatedthat as part of its strategy, the Ministry of Information had been using "fake and duplicate accounts" for propaganda purposes. Even before the pandemic, an increasing number of African heads of state had moved to undermine term limits or rig elections to remain in power. Annual Lecture on China: Frayed RelationsThe United States and China, Virtual Event President Vladimir Putin is currently serving his fourth term as President of Russia. The pandemic is exacerbating a decline of democracy across sub-Saharan Africa. PMI, Presidents Malaria Initiative Strategy 2021-2026, 2021. Both sides have tens of thousands of fighters, foreign backers, mineral riches and other resources that could insulate them from sanctions. Arab Gulf countries have looked to the Horn of Africa in recent years as they have sought to project power across the region. When Facebook took action, President Museveni's press secretary, Don Wanyama, whose Facebook and Instagram accounts were also suspended, accused Facebook of trying to influence the 2021 election in Uganda: "Shame on the foreign powers who think they can impose a puppet government on Uganda by disabling the online accounts of NRM supporters," Wanyama wrote on Twitter at the time. According to Opiyo, this involves using bots and trolls, computer programs, and paid users who use fake accounts to flood social media with posts favorable to the government. The Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Annual Lecture on Science and Technology addresses issues at the intersection of science, technology, and foreign policy. Personal security in many parts of Africa has declined dramatically, in some places because of a jihadi onslaught, in others from criminal gangs, and in still others from ethnic and religious conflicts often exacerbated by self-serving politicians. First, apps are downloaded via email attachments, then the software instals itself and accesses microphones, cameras, and social media.". A democratic decline, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is underway in sub-Saharan Africa. Again, the The International Criminal Court eventually charged al-Bashir with genocide. The dictator is the absolute ruler. (The military) will want to take control of gold mines and smuggling routes. Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that using the pandemic as a pretext, authorities in some countries have deployed heavy-handed security responses and emergency measures to crush dissent, criminalize basic freedoms, silence independent reporting, and curtail the activities of nongovernmental organizations. Freedom House reported in late 2020 that democracy in eighty countries was worse off due to the pandemic. WebFreedom in the World 2021 Status Change Explanations. November 4, 2022 This was an unpopular strategy, particularly because neither the constitutional referendum nor the general election that he subsequently won were free and fair. Yet, Malawi offers a bright spot amid the pandemic. Sudan is Africas third-largest country by area and straddles the Nile River. However, within this category, increasingly populist governments are suppressing opposition groups, postponing elections, eliminating term limits, and abusing human rights to maintain power. Those criteria, and their application to a specific locale, are always subject to debate; the score can only be indicative, not definitive. Yet by invoking democracy to legitimate military takeover, coup plotters create a rod for their own backs. The challenge facing American and other policy makers is to support African governments in taking meaningful steps toward democracy while at the same time acknowledging the legitimate grievances that underpin so much of the insecurity. In recent months, negotiations were underway for a return to the democratic transition. by Lindsay Maizland with Heidi Campbell and Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, with Ivan Kanapathy, Bonny Lin and Stephen S. Roach, Authors Note: Comparing and Quantifying Democracy, Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Annual Lecture. Yet Rwanda is the exception rather than the rule. Tanzania offers a stark example. Egypt relies on the Nile to support its population of over 100 million, and Ethiopia is working on a massive upstream dam that has alarmed both Cairo and Khartoum. His wealth is estimated to be approximately $600 million. In their book "Dictators and Dictatorships: Understanding Authoritarian Regimes and Their Leaders", authors Natasha M. Ezrow and Erica Frantz lay out five types of dictatorships: Power is obtained and maintained through military might. But the United States and other partners canand shoulddo their part to create the conditions under which those fighting for democracy and good governance can feel safe to pursue their work. Indeed, it is telling that while many people supported the coups that removed Mr Cond and Mr Keta, the most recent surveys conducted by Afrobarometer found that 76% of Guineans and 70% of Malians reject military rule. But here, Leonard Mbulle-Nziege and Nic Cheeseman argue that - despite these set-backs - democracy is the way forward for Africa. Similarly, former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta was accused of rigging the 2020 legislative elections. Littoral states are also, on average, freer than landlocked ones, likely benefitting from increased interactions with foreigners from democratic societiesa factor more important prior to the advent of the digital age. Hes also believed to have been well-paid by Gulf countries for the RSFs service in Yemen battling Iran-aligned rebels. The rankings evaluate 85 countries across 26 rankings drawn from a survey of more than 17,000 global citizens, measuring 73 dimensions that have the potential to The situation could have been even more alarming, because failed coup attempts have been reported in the Central African Republic (CAR) and, just days ago, Guinea-Bissau. The dilemma remains that Africa is buffeted by immediate security challenges that will not wait for a democratic culture to develop. by Lindsay Maizland This third annual report monitors global progress towards the 2023 target for global elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA), highlighting by When the Malian government fell, analysts warned that Burkina Faso could follow. In addition to concerns over growing corruption and rising insecurity, this undermined his personal legitimacy. by James McBride, Anshu Siripurapu and Noah Berman Nearly all are mired in their own internal conflicts, with various rebel groups operating along the porous borders. South Africa continues to wrestle with the fallout of Across 11 countries surveyed in both 2008-2009 and 2019-2020, the In 2011, the Obama White House launched the Open Government Partnership, an initiative in which member governmentsover a dozen of them Africanmade concrete commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, and fight corruption. However, Twitter deleted this call, and in reponse,Buhari's government banned Nigerians from accessing the micro-blogging site,"Franziska Ulm-Dsterhft, Africa expert atAmnesty International in Germany,told DW. Taken together, these forces also drive internal displacement and outward migrationboth to other African countries and to Europe. The situation could have been even more Thus in total, almost 440 Ugandan social media accounts close to the Ugandan government have beenblocked by social media networks in the East African country to date. Dictatorship has no future in Africa, former president, John Agyekum Kufuor has said. Presidents that have changed their countries constitutions to eliminate the two-term limit include Presidents Gnassingb (Togo), Museveni (Uganda), Dby (Chad), Tanzania and Zambia, for example, have largely avoided the ethnic and religious conflicts that afflict Nigeria and Mozambique. One reason that democracy may remain the favoured political system for so many African societies - even in countries where it has yet to be realised - is the poor performance of authoritarian governments. C.V. Starr & Co. Again, the reasons were mainly political, withprotests, electionsand political unrest resulting ininformation shutdowns across the continent, with no end in sight: "It will take a while for those in power to understand that young people today expect them to sit down and talk to them,"political consultant Angelo Izama said. by Will Freeman Therefore, the entire country operates on the whims of that one person. Across Africa, long-standing dictators are losing their grip on power. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni is suspected of using fake social media accounts to consolidate his power. WebCurrent dictatorships include Russia, Equatorial New Guinea, and North Korea. In southern Africa, the triumvirate of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa are all considered free. Its citizens acquired the right to vote well before modern industrial On a similar note, a dictatorship's regular citizens have no voice in most matters. Protesters in Bamako wave Malian and Russian flags during a May demonstration in Bamako against French influence in the country. As in Mali, many in Burkina Faso said they had lost faith in democracy, including Assami Ouedraogo, 35, a police officer who resigned in November. The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit with close ties to the Kremlin, has made inroads across Africa in recent years and has been operating in Sudan since 2017. Read about our approach to external linking. Governments are performing abysmally, said Abdul Zanya Salifu, a scholar at the University of Calgary who focuses on the Sahel, the swath of Africa that lies just below the Sahara. While autocratic countries are not always malevolent, they often still encounter resistance from citizens who would prefer to have a greater say in the government's policy-making process. In other countries, such as the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and South Sudan, power has changed hands more frequently, though transfers have come from coups, wars, or deals between elites made behind closed doors. He wouldn't be the only one in Africa. People celebrating in the streets with members of Guineas armed forces in September, after soldiers toppled Guineas president, Alpha Cond, in a coup detat in the capital, Conakry. Military takeovers are unlikely to provide an effective way out of this dangerous spiral, because every coup weakens democratic institutions and reasserts the power of the gun at the expense of the power of the ballot box. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Cuba. But the juntas popularity has grown, even though it seized power again in May of 2021 the second putsch in an unsettling nine-month span this time from the civilian leaders who had been appointed to lead the transition to elections. Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development in Nigeria November 2021 Authors: Ope Oyedeji University of Southern Mississippi Preprints and early-stage by James McBride Just like a dictatorship, an autocracy is a government headed by a single ruler (the autocrat) whose decisions are not subject to legal restraints and who exercises unlimited and undisputed power. Military dictatorship: 2. To combat the trend, the United States and other partners should commit to the painstaking work of bolstering democratic institutions. There are eight dictatorships in Asia, seven in the Eurasian region of the world, and twelve spanning from Africa s northern parts to the Middle East. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. These countries usually have low levels of social development, underdeveloped civil organizations, and weak institutions of government. Weekly. In Ghanas 2020 election, former President John Mahama, running as the opposition candidate, rejected his defeat. As a result, on average African democracies achieve higher levels of economic growth while doing a better job of providing public services. Unless it is swiftly ended, the conflict will become a multi-level game with regional and some international actors pursuing their interests, using money, arms supplies and possibly their own troops or proxies, he wrote. If we wait until the next elections in 2025 to change leaders, our country will no longer exist, he said. Leaders of these dictatorships often place those loyal to them in positions of power (qualified or not), and foster cults of personality to sway public opinion to their side. This may sound like a contradiction of terms to many people. The report states that in 2017, disinformation campaigns were carried out in 28 countries. and. Monarchies: 3. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video, At the time, Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa initially justified the move by saying that Facebook and Twitter had shut down government accounts, making the social media blackout sound like a retaliatory measure. January 29, 2021 at 5:00 a.m. EST. There, a popular uprising had succeeded in overthrowing a military dictator in 2019, but there has been sustained public outrage since last October when the military took back full control of the government, and detained the civilian prime minister who had served in what was supposed to be a power-sharing government. India: Indias status declined from Free to Partly Free due to a multiyear pattern in which the Hindu nationalist government But that solved nothing: Insecurity got worse; corruption and living standards, no better. February 13, 2023 Examples can be found across Africa: from Guinea to Somalia to South Africa, democracy ratings slid amid the COVID-19 crisis. The United Nations [PDF] and advanced democracies including France, Japan, and the United Kingdom have similarly linked foreign aid to good-governance reforms. Return to text. Its a recipe for the kind of prolonged conflict that has devastated other countries in the Middle East and Africa, from Lebanon and Syria to Libya and Ethiopia. ", Meanwhile, some governments are even going further and targeting their citizens directly by exploiting their internet affinity:"Spy software is being bought by governments and installed specifically on smartphones,"Amnesty expert Ulm-Dsterhft told DW. Other U.S. assistance programs support judicial independence, a critical component of functional democracy that is lacking in much of Africa. Sudans economic woes would seem to provide an opening for Western nations to use economic sanctions to pressure both sides to stand down. In their first meeting, in April 2021, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari proposed to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the headquarters of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) be moved from Stuttgart, Germany, to an African country.