dictatorship countries 2021 in africa
Similarly, former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta was accused of rigging the 2020 legislative elections. India: Indias status declined from Free to Partly Free due to a multiyear pattern in which the Hindu nationalist government 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. So, he said, the military thinks: You know, why not take over?. by Will Freeman the military took back full control of the government. As vaccination campaigns continue around the globe, vaccine diplomacy by China could deepen its ties to the continent and potentially further erode African confidence in democracy. In both countries, civilian leaders lost popularity in part because they departed from democracy, not simply because citizens lost faith with it. But he also calls forusers to act responsibly and remember thatnot everything found on social media is true. 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. Economic prosperity, also concentrated on the coasts [PDF], likely has also influenced a positive democratic trajectory. 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. Kenya and the Ivory Coast, both with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of around $2,000, are significantly richer than Malawi and the breakaway territory of Somaliland (rated separately from Somalia by Freedom House), each with income per person at around $400. The internet and social media are increasingly empowering Africas youthful population to become politically active. On the 20th anniversary of his crackdown in Eritrea, which is still a news and information black hole, Reporters Without A political rival accused Obiang of cannibalism in 2004, but no evidence to support the claim has ever surfaced. But whats happening is the exact opposite, said Ornella Moderan, head of the Sahel Program at the Institute for Security Studies, which is based in Pretoria, South Africa. 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. January 29, 2021 at 5:00 a.m. EST. Although it is true that some dictators are far more strict and overbearing than others, as a rule, dictatorships tend to result in a loss of personal autonomy, quality of life, and political choice for everyday citizens. 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. Soldiers received a rapturous welcome after they seized power in Guinea last year, This supporters of Mali's football team held a picture of coup leader Colonel Assimi Goita before a recent Africa Cup of Nations match, Sudanese protesters continue to risk their lives to demand an end to military rule, Rwanda markets itself as a high-tech hub but there is no room for criticism of the government, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. November 4, 2022 The president is nowhere to be seen. 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. 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 #EndSARSmovement was initated by social media-savvyyoung Nigerians, who sought to put pressure onthe government to abolish Nigeria's controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit. 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. West Africa and East Africa both have mostly partially free regimes. Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development in Nigeria November 2021 Authors: Ope Oyedeji University of Southern Mississippi Preprints and early-stage ", 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. Five African Countries. Wagner group surges in Africa as U.S. influence fades, leak reveals. This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License. Denis Sassou Nguesso took power in 1997, and has remained the president of the Republic of Congo. 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. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, are each seeking to seize control of Sudan, has made inroads across Africa in recent years, removed Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, has vast livestock holdings and gold mining operations. More Africans live under fully or partially authoritarian states today than at most points in the last two decades. Obiang's regime is known for state-sanctioned kidnappings, torture of prisoners, and unlawful killings. by Lindsay Maizland In others, it is because they have political projects they wish to complete that take longer than expected. Far from being a short-term Sudanese problem, this conflict between two rival centres of military power illustrates a common long-term problem in Africa. by CFR.org Editors Mali actually had two coups in a nine-month span. But billions of dollars in loans and aid were put on hold after the 2021 military coup. Vietnam. 8. Control over political funds will be no less decisive than the battlefield, De Waal said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. On a similar note, a dictatorship's regular citizens have no voice in most matters. 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 2021) Min Aung Hlaing (born 3 July 1956) is a Burmese politician and army general who has ruled Myanmar as the chairman of the State Administration Council since seizing power in the February 2021 coup dtat. International powers insist that the military rulers should hold swift elections. Dictatorships have shallow levels of freedom. Buharis remarkable reversal is an indication of the security threat posed by groups such as Boko Haram that draw on the alienation of many Africans from their governments, in part the result of stalling or declining democracy. Why African Nations Support U.S. Anti-Racism Protesters. 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. Another reason is of course the need to try and avoid international condemnation and sanctions by pledging a return to multiparty elections and democratic governance. Is climate change killing Australian wine? A dictatorship is a type of government in which a single personthe dictatoror party has absolute power. To compare levels of democracy across different countries, Freedom House, a well-regarded nongovernmental organization, publishes an index that measures by standard criteria the degree of freedom enjoyed by people in countries and some territories and assigns to each a numerical score. 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. When necessary, a dictator may also make an effort to replace or amend the nation's constitution to empower, enrich, or otherwise benefit the dictator and his/her allies to a greater degree. Military dictatorship: 2. 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. Single-party dictatorships: 5. Rwanda is often cited as an example of what a "strong man" can do in the African context - delivering economic growth while reducing corruption. "It will also take time for those in power to stop using surveillance and monitoring as a means to counter criticism. Dictatorships seem much more extreme and unethical to people who enjoy the privilege of an outside perspective. His wealth is estimated to be approximately $600 million. WebFreedom in the World 2021 Status Change Explanations. Following military takeovers in five different African countries in the past year, some have suggested that democracy may not be the best form of government on the continent. Last November, 49 military police officers and four civilians were killed in the northern outpost of Inata. Back in Uganda,the government in the capital Kampala has also been trying to make itharder for Ugandans to get independent information online by imposing taxes on mobile data. Despite the decline, a plurality of countries (twenty-two) are considered partially free, in line with the sixteen-year average. Paramilitary power brokers. Where democracy stands in Africa today has myriad influences, including the legacy of colonialism and the emergence of the digital age. Since its postwar founding, the UN agency has garnered both praise and criticism for its response to international public health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Most African regional organizations have a stated vocation of promoting democracy. American-made guns trafficked through Florida ports are destabilizing the Caribbean and Central America and fueling domestic crime. Finding a way out of instability and insecurity will therefore require building stronger democratic institutions that can withstand manipulation by political leaders, not authoritarian ones that exclude citizens and run counter to their aspirations. 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. Global Health Program, Innovating Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Virtual Event Also significant has been the role of the police and the army, often vestiges of colonialism, which have been a cause and consequence of power systems favoring a coterie of elites. Unfortunately, democracy is still shaky in many countries, a number of which are fighting violent religious insurrections, and the likelihood of any fallen dictator being quickly replaced by another dictator is high. The rights of the people are typically suppressed in a dictatorship, sometimes to a great degree. The pro-military sentiment does not extend to Sudan. Burkina Faso this week joined a list of countries that have recently experienced military takeovers most plagued by insecurity, poor governance and frustrated youth. On April 21, 1976, a group of four Greek Army colonels overthrew the caretaker government in a coup d'etat. But that solved nothing: Insecurity got worse; corruption and living standards, no better. Ghana is the most notable, positive exception in West Africa. Those criteria, and their application to a specific locale, are always subject to debate; the score can only be indicative, not definitive. Eswatini. 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. In Burkina Faso, an attack last November that left almost 50 military police officers dead is considered a key event that led to the coup two months later. President Vladimir Putin is currently serving his fourth term as President of Russia. WebUsing evidence from the countries of sub-Saharan Africa and the countries involved in the Arab Spring, we argue that dictatorship in Africa serves a function akin to Myrdal's A citizen casts her ballot during parliamentary elections in April 2021 in Praia, Cape Verde. Both the military and the public were outraged that their officers were not well-enough equipped or trained to withstand such an attack. A curation of original analyses, data visualizations, and commentaries, examining the debates and efforts to improve health worldwide. But a military takeover doesnt necessarily lead to a more effective response against insurgencies continuing attacks in Mali are evidence of that, she said. Leonard Mbulle-Nziege is a research analyst at Africa Risk Consulting (ARC) and Nic Cheeseman is a professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham in the UK. The 25 Best Countries View All 29 Slides Sudans regional, economic and strategic importance Sudan is located at a critical nexus, geographically. Egypt has close ties to Sudans military, which it sees as an ally against Ethiopia. By 2021 this had dropped to 84, yet nearly half of the world's population was still classified as 'at risk' of malaria. Return to text. 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. Yet, if a witchs brew of jihadi terrorists, criminal networks, and the disaffected destroy sitting governments, the human rights consequences certainly will be worse than the status quo. First, apps are downloaded via email attachments, then the software instals itself and accesses microphones, cameras, and social media.". "We documented this last year for Togo and Rwanda, for example. The United States, the European Union and France endorsed the sanctions on Mali, but at the U.N. Security Council, Russia and China blocked a statement supporting them. Arab Gulf countries have looked to the Horn of Africa in recent years as they have sought to project power across the region. The dictator is the absolute ruler. However, foreign as well as domestic expectations for liberal democracy in Africa have often been unrealistic, and Africas setbacks are not surprising. Rwanda is an exception: its social development indicators rank higher than its human rights standing, and its president, Paul Kagame, is relatively young at sixty-three years of age. More broadly, digital repression has become commonplaceespecially around electionsas leaders seek to throttle the opposition and influence popular discourse, frequently through disinformation. Republic of Congo. The regional economic bloc, ECOWAS, imposed punishing sanctions that were partly intended to turn Malians against the junta, putting pressure on the military leaders to commit to a speedy election timetable. The external mediators risk becoming a traffic jam with no policeman, De Waal said. President Hassan has shifted the country toward a more evidence-based approach to COVID-19 and reached out to the opposition. The victor of the latest fighting is likely to be Sudans next president, with the loser facing exile, arrest or death. Dictatorships suffer from an obvious and significant imbalance of power. The type of dictatorship a country is ruled by typically comes down to the methods the dictator used to obtain power and how they go about maintaining it. Globally in 2000 there were a total of 108 endemic countries. The United State and the European Union have imposed sanctions on two Wagner-linked gold mining firms in Sudan accused of smuggling. Are military takeovers on the rise in Africa? You are also agreeing to our. Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Annual Lecture, Religion and Foreign Policy Webinar: Religion and Technology, Virtual Event Small island nations make up an outsize share of free African countries, and they are freer on average than similarly sized countries on the mainland, such as Djibouti and Eswatini. 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. Both Twitter and Facebook accusethe Ugandan government of using social media asa tool politicians to manipulate public opinion, spread disinformation, and intimidate the opposition. The International Criminal Court eventually charged al-Bashir with genocide. Young peoplein particular, he highlights, are now ablewith the help of the internetto react immediately to laws and bans, and make their opinions known about the performance of the government or of private institutions. Tanzania and Zambia, for example, have largely avoided the ethnic and religious conflicts that afflict Nigeria and Mozambique. Addressing these issues will require grappling with long-standing grievances left untreated and often exacerbated by the poor, sometimes brutal governance that is all too common across the African continent. 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.". Current Heads of State & Dictators - Planet Rulers, President Faustin Archange Touadera of the, President Flix Tshilombo Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo, President Teodoro Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, President Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan of. To combat the trend, the United States and other partners should commit to the painstaking work of bolstering democratic institutions. Three years later, thatfigure had risen to 81 countries. The leader may be supported by a party or military, but still retains the overwhelming majority of power, especially regarding whom to place in which governmental roles, and relies heavily upon their own charisma to maintain control. In the past 18 months, in similar scenes, military leaders have toppled the governments of Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan and now, Burkina Faso. Conceived as the principal defenders of the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has evolved into an institution with vast political, economic, and military power. 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). A dictator may have a team of officials who advise him or her and help keep the government running, but these officials ultimately have very little control or influence. 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. 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. Initial signs following Magufulis death are promising for Tanzanian democracy: Samia Suluhu Hassan, the vice president under Magufuli, was sworn in as president as prescribed by the constitution. In the last six years alone, at least 26 African countries have experienced transfers of power. As a result, on average African democracies achieve higher levels of economic growth while doing a better job of providing public services. Heavy gunfire was heard in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, as fighting raged between rival forces for the sixth day despite a truce agreement. Ukraine updates: Air defenses fend off attack near Kyiv, Ukraine: Russian troops edge closer to taking Bakhmut, Ukraine's counteroffensive: Goals, opportunities, risks, Truly revolutionary? There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. This is thanks to an oil boom that enriched his family at the expense of the Equatorial Guinea citizens. But the longer (the fighting) drags on the more likely it is we see major external intervention.. 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. Paradoxically, the weakness of Burkina Fasos armed forces was a major factor in the coup. The Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Annual Lecture on Science and Technology addresses issues at the intersection of science, technology, and foreign policy. 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. By contrast, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been paralyzed by its inability or unwillingness to address the excesses of Zimbabwes ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National UnionPatriotic Front (ZANU-PF), because of its origins as a liberation movement.
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