dictatorship countries 2021 in africa

Yet, a single defining characteristic for these countries is difficult to pin down. and 23 years of military dictatorship until democratic elections in 1992. . Nolan Quinn. 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. After authoritarian monarchies, these tend to be the longest-lasting dictatorships, as they can more easily install a new dictator if the existing one leaves office (rare) or dies. In turn, this is one reason that military juntas typically justify their actions by claiming that they were intended to reinstitute the rule of law and save democracy from itself. Obiang's regime is known for state-sanctioned kidnappings, torture of prisoners, and unlawful killings. This becomes clear if we go beyond the headlines to ask why some of the recent coups have been publicly celebrated. Dictatorships have shallow levels of freedom. A dictatorship is a type of government in which a single person—the dictator—or party has absolute power. Dictatorship | Definition, Characteristics, Countries, & Facts Following that time, and especially since 2000, he said, the international community has been far less tolerant of coups. 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. Tanzania and Zambia, for example, have largely avoided the ethnic and religious conflicts that afflict Nigeria and Mozambique. President Vladimir Putin is currently serving his fourth term as President of Russia. Africa's 'Leaders for Life' - Council on Foreign Relations Coups in Africa: Why they don't spell the end of democracy Geography is not quite destiny, but similarly rated countries do tend to form clusters. Examples might include King Cyrus the Great of Persia, who is thought to have created the first declaration of human rights, the Biblical King Solomon, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yue. When a country has one coup, that's often a harbinger of more coups.". The State of Poverty in 10 Dictatorship Countries Nevertheless, many of these countries still struggle to deepen and institutionalize democracy and deal effectively and fully with government impunity, particularly that which is associated with the abuse of executive power and the violation of human rights. During a 2009 visit to Ghana, U.S. President Barack Obama famously said in an address to the parliament, “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.” But institution-building requires time and patience. Digital democracy and digital dictatorship have emerged as two sides of the same coin, with politicians and citizens vying to exploit technology to further their agendas. China is an example of how economic growth can effectively . Despite the decline, a plurality of countries (twenty-two) are considered “partially free,” in line with the sixteen-year average. A citizen casts her ballot during parliamentary elections in April 2021 in Praia, Cape Verde. 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, African leaders complain about 'wave of coups'. The pandemic is exacerbating a decline of democracy across sub-Saharan Africa. Why Putin has put this religious art on display, The one thing Mike Pence needs to beat his old boss. U.S. researchers Aaron Belkin and Evan Schofer have found that the strength of a country’s civil society, the legitimacy conferred on a government by its population, and a nation’s coup history are strong predictors of coups. A coup was also attempted in 2015. 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. Powell said that while it would be surprising to see such high levels of coups continuing, “I am certain the coming years will see coups in higher numbers than what we had become accustomed to.”, He added, “The underlying causes of coups are present and worsening. On November 26, 2021, U.S. President Biden issued a Proclamation that suspends boarding a flight and/or entry to the United States by non-U.S. citizens who have been physically present in any of the following countries within the immediately prior 14 days: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe. The military has taken over in Sudan. Here's what happened - CNN My research suggests that the United States is investing in poor partners. June 2, 2023 Read about our approach to external linking. You are also agreeing to our. Of 486 attempted or successful coups carried out around the world since 1950, Africa has seen 214, the most of any region, with 106 of them successful, Powell and Thyne's data show. The first was in 1966, when Kwame Nkrumah was removed from power, and in the following year there was an unsuccessful attempt by junior army officers. In March 2021, Magufuli died—his death was attributed to heart disease but was likely brought on by COVID-19. Four trends stand out: In its 2021 report, Freedom House rated only eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa as free. Eritrean troops—overtly or tacitly supported by the Ethiopian government—have reportedly committed a range of atrocities, while Abiy’s government stands accused of attempting to starve large swathes of the Tigrayan population into submission. One concrete way to enhance electoral participation is to provide electors information about all the issues that must be decided by the election. Sudan tops the list as the African country with the most coups — attempted and successful — since 1950, with 17, Powell and Thyne’s data show. One person holds all of the country's power. The greatest number of successful coups in Africa took place near the midpoint of the U.S.-Soviet Cold War rivalry stretching from 1946 to 1991. The People's Republic of China is currently ruled by President Xi Jinping, who also serves as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the country's Vice President, the President of the Central Party School, and the 1st ranked member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee. Turkey’s geography and membership in NATO have long given the country an influential voice in foreign policy, but the assertive policies of President Erdogan have complicated its role. Mauritius classifies as the most democratic country in Sub-Saharan Africa. 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. 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. Still, a much larger debt problem awaits. The long road to quitting tobacco | WHO | Regional Office for Africa In both countries, civilian leaders lost popularity in part because they departed from democracy, not simply because citizens lost faith with it. While some definitions of coups limit the perpetrators to only military figures, Powell and Thyne said doing so would likely bias the data toward successful coups. Buhari’s 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. After signaling an intention to lift all media bans in the country, Hassan walked back the decision. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else.”. A communist state, also known as a Marxist-Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism-Leninism. In 2021, five sitting African heads of state had been in power for more than three decades each: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in Equatorial Guinea, Paul Biya in Cameroon, Denis Sassou Nguesso in the Republic of Congo, Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, and Isaias Afwerki in Eritrea. Why African Nations Support U.S. Anti-Racism Protesters. But COVID-19 has given them greater leverage, providing further pretext for postponing elections in Somalia and Ethiopia, muzzling opposition figures in Uganda and Tanzania, and imposing restrictions [PDF] on media across the continent. An observer signs a paper marking the closing of the polls at a polling station in Mekele during Tigray’s regional elections in September 2020. by Christopher M. Tuttle We saw arriving passengers in Freetown from Banjul on Monday 25th April 2021 subjected to COVID-19 tests at a fee of USD80 each even . COVID-19 has also dramatically redirected Ethiopia’s political landscape deeper into authoritarianism. Are military takeovers on the rise in Africa? It is important to note that, although elections are critical to the transition of a country from authoritarianism to constitutional democracy, they can also serve as a tool for the survival of authoritarian governments. 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. Nonetheless, the index provides an objective standard and vocabulary with which to assess and compare personal freedoms across Africa. But here, Leonard Mbulle-Nziege and Nic Cheeseman argue that - despite these set-backs - democracy is the way forward for Africa. Burundi's history has been marked by eleven separate coups, mostly driven by the tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi communities. According to the African Center for Strategic Studies, since 2015, leaders of 13 African countries have “evaded or overseen the further weakening of term limit restrictions that had been in place.” For example, Alassane Ouattara, who has been president of Côte d’Ivoire since 2011 and who was seemingly barred from standing for the presidency this election cycle by the constitution’s two-term limit, argued in August 2020 that his first two mandates do not count because the limits were created by the constitution that was adopted in 2016, which effectively reset the clock. Multiple political parties may exist, but one dominates the government, makes all the rules, is free to disseminate propaganda, and controls every aspect of every election (which may offer voters only a single candidate), thereby ensuring they win every time. 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. By expressly recognizing the language of each of its various ethnocultural groups and providing them election information in their own language, the South African government significantly increased the participation of these groups in elections and, as a result, in governance generally. Backgrounder Some have been in power for decades, such as President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial New Guinea. by Lindsay Maizland Abuja, 6 June, 2023 - Before 2021, the cautionary advice on cigarette packs in Nigeria was "The Federal Ministry of Health warns that smokers are liable to die young." Yet, this did not deter Useni Musa, a resident of the Federal Captial Territory (Abuja), in Northcentral Nigeria, from trying out his first cigarette stick at 13. The West Is Sending Light Tanks to Ukraine. That said, there are two important differences between dictatorships and autocracies. As of 2020, there are 52 nations with a dictator or authoritarian regime ruling the country: Three in Latin America and South America, 27 in Asia and the Middle East, and 22 in Africa. Tanzania offers a stark example. In fact, while elections can help African countries consolidate, deepen, and entrench democracy, they can also pave the way for sustained majoritarian power to the detriment of the minority, as we have seen in countries like Cameroon.
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