West Africa’s Authoritarian Turn

Democratic Backsliding, Youth Resistance, and the Case for American Help

On September 5, 2021, a 41-year-old colonel in Guinea’s special forces took to the radio to announce that President Alpha Condé had been arrested and the constitution had been dissolved. The colonel, Mamady Doumbouya, said he and his fellow coup makers were fulfilling their duty to “save the country.” As he spoke, a photo of the disheveled 83-year-old Condé—slouched on a couch, surrounded by his captors—went viral on social media, inspiring a meme as young Guineans humorously reenacted the scene.

Africa: Is France Losing Ground in Africa?

Gabon and Togo’s recent decision to join the Commonwealth seemed like a blow to France – but was it?

On the face of it, France seems to be losing ground in Africa. It was forced out of Mali and appears to be losing popular support elsewhere in the Sahel. And then last week, two Francophonie members, Gabon and Togo, joined the Commonwealth at its biennial summit in Kigali.

Africa: Global Cost-of-Living Crisis Catalyzed By War In Ukraine Sending Tens of Millions Into Poverty, Warns UN Development Programme

71 million people in the developing world have fallen into poverty in just three months as a direct consequence of global food and energy price surges. The impact on poverty rates is drastically faster than the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Targeted cash transfers to households are more equitable and more cost-effective than blanket energy subsidies –but governments need support from the multilateral system to make ends meet.

In Sudan, a Narrow Opportunity to Get the Democratic Transition Back on Track

Coordinated, sustained and high-level international engagement is needed as coup leader offers to hand power back to civilians.

The surprise announcement by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of Sudan’s coup government, that the military is willing to hand power back to civilians presents an opportunity to get the democratic transition back on track.

To Counter Russia’s Aggression, Invest in Africa

A transatlantic partnership with Africa can bolster democracies and global order for the long term.

The current struggle by Western democracies to isolate Russia over its assaults on Ukraine and international rule of law will be costly to sustain. Spiking prices for fuels, fertilizers and foods that Russia exports are risking wider socio-economic instability in many countries. A long-term solution must include a Western partnership to invest economically and politically in Africa, arguably Russia’s most formidable potential economic competitor. This strategy can strengthen a rules-based world against economic coercion by authoritarian powers, stabilize African democracies by enabling them to deliver for their people and strengthen international institutions and laws by including African countries more fully in them.

Tunisia’s Twin Democracy and Economic Crises Push it to the Brink

Tunisia experts examine recent events and discuss what we might expect to see in the weeks to come.

Last July, Tunisian President Kais Saied suspended parliament in what many observers called a bloodless coup. Saied’s supporters — of which there are many — claim that this extreme executive action was necessary to root out rampant government corruption and ineffectiveness. Polling at the time showed widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of parliament and the prime minister; many Tunisians felt that their high expectations following the 2011 popular revolution were not realized and that the country was heading in the wrong direction.