South Africa’s democracy – reasons for hope
Recently expressed concerns about the fragility of South Africa’s democracy may be assuaged by the results of a new survey which finds that the country’s race relations are in… Read more »
Category: Africa
Religious politics signal ‘Rough Times for Democratic Change’
Democracy and models of social market economy are facing an unprecedented challenge worldwide, while the influence of religion on political institutions and legal systems is on the rise, says… Read more »
Spreading democracy at the touch of a button
During recent elections across Africa, new technologies have been harnessed to help monitor elected officials, bolster democracies and liberate election information, notes Stephen Abbott Pugh, an ICFJ Knight international journalism… Read more »
Constitutional design: vital but insufficient for managing conflict
Institutionalized accountability is vital if constitutions are to be meaningful in preventing and mitigating conflict in Africa, says a leading analyst. African constitutions have increasingly relied on accommodative approaches (i.e…. Read more »
Sick of fighting, Darfur community refuses to wait for peace
The Darfur peace process has stalled, and is now contingent upon the political opposition’s decision whether or not to join a national dialogue with President Omar al-Bashir’s government, notes Katie… Read more »
Burundi violence intensifies, rights groups demand international police presence
Burundi’s authorities are targeting perceived opponents with increased brutality. Government forces are killing, abducting, torturing, and arbitrarily arresting scores of people at an alarming rate, Human Rights Watch said today:… Read more »
Poll shows Uganda’s democracy has ‘stagnated, regressed’
\ Last Saturday, as Yoweri Museveni was declared president of Uganda for a fifth consecutive term, the military rolled armored cars down the streets of the capital, Kampala, and police surveillance helicopters… Read more »
Nigerian unions in front line against Boko Haram
In northeastern Nigeria, where violence has terrorized communities over the past several years, the Nigerian Union of Teachers is going beyond the difficult task of ensuring students continue to receive… Read more »
Angola: a road to dialogue or things fall apart?
Angola faces a choice between three likely scenarios, says Rafael Marques de Morais, a leading journalist and democracy advocate: a dysfunctional status quo, with the kleptocratic, nepotistic regime maintained by… Read more »
‘Hybrid’ South Africa: poised between democracy & autocracy?
A survey by Afrobarometer shows that growing dissatisfaction with the country’s leadership and government performance has spilled over into frustration with democracy in general, writes analyst Boniface Dulani: Looked… Read more »