It has become common to argue that most Africans are not that committed to democracy. Commentators often suggest that Africans care more about development than democracy, and that voters—especially those in rural areas—don’t really understand democracy. They would thus happily trade away their political rights for a “strong man” who can get things done.
Kenyan politics is often depicted as a battle between different ethnic “Big Men” who can mobilise their supporters with a click of their fingers. The ability of successive generations of the Kenyatta family to rally the support of the Kikuyu community, and of Odingas to command the loyalty of Luos, means that it is also seen to be dominated by a small number of dynasties—a Game of Thrones, if you will.
The impact of colonial rule on sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the subject of intense debate and controversy. Barely a year goes by in the UK without a public figure igniting a furor by arguing that colonialism somehow benefitted the people it oppressed.
There is growing concern about the potential for the message and media sharing platform WhatsApp to undermine democracy in a number of countries across the world including Brazil and India.
Every country has its own political language. These terms and phrases that have developed over time give distinctive meanings that may not be fully understood by outsiders. Unless we learn them, we may miss critical information about how politics really works.
Should democracies give foreign aid to countries that are not democracies? Democratic aid donors don’t have enough money to do all the things they want to in the world, so they need to find ways to decide how to ration aid. This means that not choosing to give their taxpayers’ hard earned money to authoritarian governments might seem like an easy decision.
Africa is often imagined to be a place in which presidents can do whatever they want, unencumbered by constitutional or democratic constraints. A large body of literature has developed around the idea that the law can be flouted at will, leading to a situation in which what really matters is the personality of the president, not the rules of the game.
Rwanda is often touted as an example of what African states could achieve if only they were better governed. Out of the ashes of a horrific genocide, president Paul Kagame has resuscitated the economy, curtailed corruption and maintained political stability.
The last twelve months have been a confusing time for African democracy. We have seen coups that didn’t look like coups and elections that didn’t look like elections. In this sense, it was a year of illusions.
For 24 hours rumours swirled through Zambia that President Edgar Lungu planned to initiate a state of emergency. When he finally took to the airwaves to make a special announcement he stopped did something different. Invoking Article 31 of the constitution—Declaration Relating to Threatened Emergency—rather than Article 30—Declaration of Public Emergency—the president requested extra powers to prevent a state of emergency rather than actually declaring one.
The race for State House in Kenya is heating up. After a long period during which president Uhuru Kenyatta looked like a shoo-in for reelection, the presidential race is now looking increasingly competitive.
Zambia has often been ignored by the international media. One reason for this neglect is that it’s been comparatively unexceptional, on a continent with more than its fair share of extremes. Since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1991, the country has neither been a clear democratic success story like Ghana or South Africa , nor a case of extreme authoritarian abuse, as in Cote d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe.
