Backgrounder This growing trend is driving democratic backsliding on the continent. The Guardian view on India at a crossroads: development, not Also called a dominant party dictatorship or one-party state. By contrast, military regimes have a long history of abusing human rights while presiding over economic stagnation. Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures, Backgrounder For much of the continent, the foundations of a political culture necessary to sustain liberal democracy have been weak for most of the postcolonial era (roughly six decades for most African states). More broadly, digital repression has become commonplaceespecially around electionsas leaders seek to throttle the opposition and influence popular discourse, frequently through disinformation. Tanzania offers a stark example. April 23, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. EDT. 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. Economic prosperity, also concentrated on the coasts [PDF], likely has also influenced a positive democratic trajectory. However, Chinas model of developmental authoritarianism remains attractive to those who see democracy as an impediment to development. 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. January 29, 2021 at 5:00 a.m. EST. Countries under Dictatorship in 2021 DevelopmentAid The military also couldnt stop Chads president, Idris Dby, a retired general, from being killed on the battlefield as rebels tried to overthrow his government. Whoever takes power now, he needs to follow the example of Mali reject France, and start to take our own decisions, said Anatole Compaore, a customer in a cellphone market in Ouagadougou, in the early hours of the coup. Political prisoners share how Jimmy Carter saved their lives Both the military and the public were outraged that their officers were not well-enough equipped or trained to withstand such an attack. The United State and the European Union have imposed sanctions on two Wagner-linked gold mining firms in Sudan accused of smuggling. The leaders of dictatorships are not outwardly identified as dictators when other people are addressing them. South Africa continues to wrestle with the fallout of Across 11 countries surveyed in both 2008-2009 and 2019-2020, the Others, such as Botswana, enjoy high levels of economic and social development. All three Sahelian countries with recent coups Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad are grappling with Islamist insurgencies that keep spreading, capitalizing on local tensions and grievances against political elites. The poor performance of authoritarian forms of government on African soil, and the universal desire to have a say in decisions that affect our own lives, helps to explain why support for democracy remains high. In general, the lack of accountability that occurs under dictators and military juntas leads to greater corruption and less effective economic policy. The United Arab Emirates, a rising Facebook alsostatedthat as part of its strategy, the Ministry of Information had been using "fake and duplicate accounts" for propaganda purposes. The West Is Sending Light Tanks to Ukraine. Religion and Foreign Policy Webinars, C.V. Starr & Co. He wouldn't be the only one in Africa. Supporters of a military Fighting in Sudan between forces loyal to two top generals has put that nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders. 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. There were four successful coups in Africa in 2021 there hadnt been that many in a single calendar year since 1999. Eritrean troopsovertly or tacitly supported by the Ethiopian governmenthave reportedly committed a range of atrocities, while Abiys government stands accused of attempting to starve large swathes of the Tigrayan population into submission. Now, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for earlier reconciliation efforts with neighboring Eritrea, is waging war in the north of his country. The military rulers, seen as standing up to self-interested foreigners, now have overwhelming support, according to analysts and local news reports. Despite the decline, a plurality of countries (twenty-two) are considered partially free, in line with the sixteen-year average. Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Sudan and Mali have all seen the government overthrown and replaced with a military junta. In March 2021, Magufuli diedhis death was attributed to heart disease but was likely brought on by COVID-19. In Guinea, former President Alpha Cond controversially modified the constitution in 2020 to allow him to run for a third term in office. 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. Mr Cond had also become increasingly authoritarian in the months leading up to the coup, jailing and exacting violence against his political opponents and anti-government activists. A curation of original analyses, data visualizations, and commentaries, examining the debates and efforts to improve health worldwide. People are fed up with their governments for many reasons major security threats, relentless humanitarian disasters and millions of young people having no prospects. Shortly afterward, Twitter also followed suit, closing11% of thenearly 3,500 accounts worldwide that allegedly spread pro-government propaganda. Now, the central bank is back in the spotlight for its battle against inflation. 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. President Vladimir Putin is currently serving his fourth term as President of Russia. 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. Chads military is considered one of the continents strongest, yet it has failed to stop deadly attacks by Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province, an insurgency that is now a decade old. Cuba. 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. The report states that in 2017, disinformation campaigns were carried out in 28 countries. Cairo has reached out to both sides in Sudan to press for a cease-fire but is unlikely to stand by if the military faces defeat. with Heidi Campbell and Paul Brandeis Raushenbush [27] One-party rule also developed in several countries in Africa during decolonization in the 1960s and 1970s, some of which produced authoritarian regimes. WebThe country earned an 11-point score declinethe largest in Freedom in the World 2021 and its status declined to Not Free. President John Magufuli repeatedlydownplayed the threatposed by COVID-19, claiming that prayer had defeated the disease in his country. What makes post-independence sub-Saharan Africa so interesting is that they have witnessed all forms of regimes including royal dictatorship, military dictatorship and civilian dictatorship making up the autocratic regimes, as well as democratic regimes that include parliamentary democracy, mixed democracy and presidential democracy. Single-party dictatorships: 5. Dictatorships have shallow levels of freedom. ", 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. That said, there are two important differences between dictatorships and autocracies. Even so, continuing to build institutional infrastructure is the unglamorous way to promote a democratic trajectory in Africa. Secondly, while the term "dictatorship" is widely understood to include inherent abuse of powerthere is arguably no such thing as a benevolent dictatorhistory offers several examples of autocrats who tried to do what was best for their people. Eswatini is currently ruled by king Makhosetive III Dlamini since 1986. The Economist declared it country of the year. 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. This is thanks to an oil boom that enriched his family at the expense of the Equatorial Guinea citizens. Negative effects include the unraveling of social organizations and democratic institutions and the prohibition of other political parties. Impact of African leaders characteristics and regime Despite the fact that hundreds of people have been injured and at least 79 killed, the Sudanese people continue to demand their democratic rights. It set the stage for this takeover, said Mr. Salifu. Dictators Despite repeated promises to leave office in 2024 (when his term limit is reached), Putin spearheaded a 2020 constitutional amendment enabling him to remain in power until 2036. There have been eight coups, successful and unsuccessful, in West and Central Africa between 2020 and 2022. Izama saysthat "(t)he political leadership, especially here in sub-Saharan Africa, comes from a generation where society was structured so that the child would not contradict the father.". The nation turns on the television and collectively switches to the state channel, where they see new leaders, wearing berets and fatigues, announce that the Constitution has been suspended, national assembly dissolved, borders closed.

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