The Wilson Research Center published a study on Africa that included a number of research papers on “Africa in 2022”, including the following research:
The recent spate of military coups in Africa is alarming, raising concerns that the continent may be ridinga global wave of democratic recession back to the military regimes of yesteryear. The sight of ordinaryMalians (twice in one year) and Guineans pouring into the streets to celebrate military takeovers promptsimportant questions about the future of African democratization: Are Africans becoming comfortable withmilitary rule? Have military coups eroded democratic commitments on the continent? Is there a future fordemocracy in Africa?These are legitimate questions. However, data from Afrobarometer surveys in 20 African countries in 2021and 2022 give reason for cautious optimism:
Africans continue to want to live under governments that aredemocratic, accountable, and responsive.Across the 20 countries, solid majorities express a preference for democracy “over any other kind ofgovernment” (67%) and reject non-democratic alternatives, including one-party rule (79%) and one-manrule (81%). Clear majorities also endorse core democratic norms such as parliamentary oversight of thepresident (65%), media freedom (67%)
, and presidential term limits (73%). Moreover, the demand foraccountable governance remains strong: 62% say accountability is even more important than effectiveness.That said, only 37% of Africans are satisfied with the way democracy works in their country, and evenfewer (30%) think their government is doing an adequate job of curbing corruption,
which a majority (62%)see as increasing.Governments’ inability to meet the democratic aspirations of their citizens may be fueling an increasingappetite for military rule. While two-thirds (67%) of citizens still reject military rule, this represents an8-percentage-point decline compared to the previous survey round. What’s more, fewer than half (42%) ofAfricans agree that militaries should never intervene in politics; the slim majority (54%) willing to accept thisoption if elected leaders abuse power grows to 58% among 18- to 25-year-olds.This should be a wake-up call for governments and other stakeholders to act now on citizens’ democraticaspirations. The U.S. strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa correctly emphasizes the delivery of democraticand security dividends, but
effective, collaborative implementation will be required to reverse a dangeroustrend
DR. JOSEPH ASUNKA
is the Chief Executive Officer of Afrobarometer based in Accra, Ghana.
