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The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit with close ties to the Kremlin, has made inroads across Africa in recent years and has been operating in Sudan since 2017. This third annual report monitors global progress towards the 2023 target for global elimination of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFA), highlighting achievements from the past year. with Alice C. Hill, Carmichael S. Roberts Jr. and Jennifer Wilcox 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 Again, the April 25, 2023 Dictators often employ illegal and/or immoral methods to maintain their power and control, including the use of secret police, indefinite arrests, and concentration camps. The Communist Party of China is the founding and sole governing political party of the People's Republic of China. First, apps are downloaded via email attachments, then the software instals itself and accesses microphones, cameras, and social media.". 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. Ghanas President Nana Akufo-Addo said on Friday, It represents a threat to peace, security and stability in West-Africa.. Dictatorships have shallow levels of freedom. When Facebook took action, President Museveni's press secretary, Don Wanyama, whose Facebook and Instagram accounts were also suspended, accused Facebook of trying to influence the 2021 election in Uganda: "Shame on the foreign powers who think they can impose a puppet government on Uganda by disabling the online accounts of NRM supporters," Wanyama wrote on Twitter at the time. In addition to concerns over growing corruption and rising insecurity, this undermined his personal legitimacy. ", Angelo Izama, a political consultant and journalist from Uganda, describesthe move rather as an "overreaction" rooted in deeply-held patriarchal beliefs. There is this notion that bad elections are worse than no elections at all, said Ms. Moderan. Despite the fact that hundreds of people have been injured and at least 79 killed, the Sudanese people continue to demand their democratic rights. 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. During a 2009 visit to Ghana, U.S. President Barack Obama famously said in an address to the parliament, Africa doesnt need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. But institution-building requires time and patience. The Presidents Malaria Initiative and Other U.S. Government But this demand angers some people who think that the military is acting in the countrys interest. November 8, 2022 EXPLAINER: What Is Happening in Sudan, and How Does it 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. Dictatorships suffer from an obvious and significant imbalance of power. 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. However, Twitter deleted this call, and in reponse,Buhari's government banned Nigerians from accessing the micro-blogging site,"Franziska Ulm-Dsterhft, Africa expert atAmnesty International in Germany,told DW. 7. Globalization not realm for dictators February 1, 2023 Others, such as Botswana, enjoy high levels of economic and social development. 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. 2023 BBC. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Thus in total, almost 440 Ugandan social media accounts close to the Ugandan government have beenblocked by social media networks in the East African country to date. Poor leadership has been facilitated and enabled by weak institutions of government. Other dictators across Latin America also released political prisoners and hastened transitions to democratic elections, a transformation Carter encouraged without sending Americans into combat. By entering your email and clicking subscribe, you're agreeing to receive announcements from CFR about our products and services, as well as invitations to CFR events. Dictatorship has no future in Africa, former president, John Agyekum Kufuor has said. Meanwhile, the sheer number of would-be mediators including the U.S., the U.N., the European Union, Egypt, Gulf countries, the African Union and the eight-nation eastern Africa bloc known as IGAD could render any peace efforts more complicated than the war itself. Things Fall Apart: Dictatorships, Development, and 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. This means that the ruler or party has complete control. However, after the January 16 election, Kutesa said the shut-downhad been"a necessary step to stop the biting language and incitement to violence. Denis Sassou Nguesso took power in 1997, and has remained the president of the Republic of Congo. In addition to executive authority, Putin also holds judicial and legislative power, which enables him to change the law to fit his agenda. According to a report published by the South African Institute of International Affairs, shutting down the internet andarresting government critics voicing their views on social media channels are signs that several governmentsin sub-Saharan Africa are becomingincreasingly autocratic. According to Freedom House, Malawi was the sole country globally whose democracy strengthened during COVID-19 lockdowns, after it became the first African country to overturn a fraudulent election through legal means and conduct a free and fair follow-up election. April 23, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. EDT. Protesters against military coup in Khartoum, Sudan, in October. 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. Last November, 49 military police officers and four civilians were killed in the northern outpost of Inata. 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. 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. In early 2021, Facebook(Meta) deactivated more than 20 accounts linked toUgandan President Yoweri Museveni's ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. 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. Why African Nations Support U.S. Anti-Racism Protesters. Of these eight, half are small island states: Cape Verde, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, and Seychelles. Across Africa, long-standing dictators are losing their grip on power. Initial progress was remarkable: In 1989, two-thirds of African states were not free, as measured by Freedom House. Robyn Dixon. An appropriate example of this occurred in 2020 when Russian president Vladimir Putin and his party introduced amendments to the country's constitution that reworked term limits, enabling Putin to remain in power until 2036. This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License. by James McBride, Anshu Siripurapu and Noah Berman Africa has several long-standing dictators despite the fact that the continent as a whole is quite volatile politically. Nobel Laureate Chinua Achebes words about his own country apply just as well to many other African countries: The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. of coups and coup attempts since 2010 What Does the World Health Organization Do? That, along with the war in Ukraine and global inflation, sent the economy into free-fall. Ghana is the most notable, positive exception in West Africa. WebOne-party dictatorships became prominent in Asia and Eastern Europe during the Cold War as communist governments were installed in several countries. But while it is tempting to interpret the spate of coups as evidence that democracy in Africa is dying, that would be a mistake. 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. Where democracy stands in Africa today has myriad influences, including the legacy of colonialism and the emergence of the digital age. As a result, on average African democracies achieve higher levels of economic growth while doing a better job of providing public services. dictatorship Hybrid dictatorships blend elements of the other four types. Dictatorships seem much more extreme and unethical to people who enjoy the privilege of an outside perspective. - Council on Foreign In Sudan, for example, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against a military power grab in 2021 that undermined the supposed transition of power into civilian hands following the removal of long-time leader Omal al-Bashir in 2019. Those who believe that he is a dictator argue that he imprisons his opponents, removed freedom of speechthe press can only publish what he allows them toand has restructured the government to give himself more and longer-lasting power. October 6, 2022. Is social media becoming a threat to democracy on the continent? One reason that democracy may remain the favoured political system for so many African societies - even in countries where it has yet to be realised - is the poor performance of authoritarian governments. Supporters of a military Additionally, the inabilitiesof many governmentsdemocratic in form and partially so in substanceto respond to the security challenges they face underminepopular support for a democratic trajectory. The rights of the people are typically suppressed in a dictatorship, sometimes to a great degree. Robyn Dixon. There are currently 22 dictators in Africa, some worse than others. The military took advantage of public anger at a stolen parliamentary election and the governments failure to protect its people from violent extremists, and arrested President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and forced him to resign on state television. Dictatorship Countries 2023 - worldpopulationreview.com Impact of African leaders characteristics and regime If we wait until the next elections in 2025 to change leaders, our country will no longer exist, he said. 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. Rumors spread of a military takeover. Monarchies: 3. In others, it is because they have political projects they wish to complete that take longer than expected. Military dictatorship - Wikipedia 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. 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. 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. by But the juntas popularity has grown, even though it seized power again in May of 2021 the second putsch in an unsettling nine-month span this time from the civilian leaders who had been appointed to lead the transition to elections. The external mediators risk becoming a traffic jam with no policeman, De Waal said. Geography is not quite destiny, but similarly rated countries do tend to form clusters. Mali and Burkina Fasos armed forces have little to no control over vast areas of their territories, and lean heavily on self-defense militias with little training and questionable human rights records. First is that an autocracy nearly always focuses power in a single individual person, whereas dictatorshipssingle-party dictatorships in particularsometimes spread the power throughout a small group of people (say, the leaders of the dictator's political party). In Guinea, former President Alpha Cond controversially modified the constitution in 2020 to allow him to run for a third term in office. Theres a belief that strongmen can better face the security risks, especially in the Sahelian countries where violence is spiraling, said Anna Schmauder, a research fellow focused on the Sahel in the conflict research unit of the Dutch think tank Clingendael. Indeed, it is telling that while many people supported the coups that removed Mr Cond and Mr Keta, the most recent surveys conducted by Afrobarometer found that 76% of Guineans and 70% of Malians reject military rule. Article 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. by CFR.org Editors While autocratic countries are not always malevolent, they often still encounter resistance from citizens who would prefer to have a greater say in the government's policy-making process. In March 2021, Magufuli diedhis death was attributed to heart disease but was likely brought on by COVID-19. Backgrounder This was an unpopular strategy, particularly because neither the constitutional referendum nor the general election that he subsequently won were free and fair. Mr. Kufuor said any attempt by leaders in Africa to restrict the freedom of the citizenry will stifle progress in the region. Yet Rwanda is the exception rather than the rule. The report states that in 2017, disinformation campaigns were carried out in 28 countries. Coups are contagious. In both countries, civilian leaders lost popularity in part because they departed from democracy, not simply because citizens lost faith with it. The coup in Mali happened partly because of the governments failure to stem the spread of groups loosely allied to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. However, foreign as well as domestic expectations for liberal democracy in Africa have often been unrealistic, and Africas setbacks are not surprising. Under the command of Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party faces a host of domestic and international challenges as it aims to bolster Chinas great-power status. But theres no one-size-fits-all explanation. 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). Nolan Quinn. Littoral states are also, on average, freer than landlocked ones, likely benefitting from increased interactions with foreigners from democratic societiesa factor more important prior to the advent of the digital age. By Greg Miller. Components such as an independent press, fair and transparent systems of taxation, and civic education and participation in governance take time to develop. After all, the overthrow of civilian presidents was followed by street celebrations in some countries as citizens cheered the downfall of elected leaders. By 2021 this had dropped to 84, yet nearly half of the world's population was still classified as 'at risk' of malaria. Here is a list of countries operating under a single-party dictatorship in 2021: China The Communist Party of China has been in political control for the last 71 Why Sudan's conflict matters to the rest of the world | AP News However, many people in long-running dictatorships such as North Korea and Cameroon have never experienced anything else, so living in a dictatorship is much less jarring and shocking to them. But in Sudan, as in other resource-rich African nations, armed groups have long enriched themselves through the shadowy trade in rare minerals and other natural resources. One person holds all of the country's power. WebAs 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 The Guardian view on India at a crossroads: development, not 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. Countdown to 2023: WHO report on global trans-fat elimination 2021 Tellingly, where coups have been seen to usurp processes of democratisation, they have been deeply unpopular. Globally in 2000 there were a total of 108 endemic countries. Sudan: violence between army and militia is a symptom of an old Dictatorship On the 20th anniversary of his crackdown in Eritrea, which is still a news and information black hole, Reporters Without In recent months, negotiations were underway for a return to the democratic transition. Yet, Malawi offers a bright spot amid the pandemic. Even in the countries in which a coup has taken place, a majority of citizens want to live in a democracy and reject authoritarian rule. Most African regional organizations have a stated vocation of promoting democracy. Dictators are usually backed (especially financially) by groups of powerful people. Globally in 2000 there were a total of 108 endemic countries. The pandemic is exacerbating a decline of democracy across sub-Saharan Africa. WebDigital 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. By contrast, military regimes have a long history of abusing human rights while presiding over economic stagnation. Coups in Africa: Why they dont spell the end of democracy But that solved nothing: Insecurity got worse; corruption and living standards, no better. South Africa continues to wrestle with the fallout of Across 11 countries surveyed in both 2008-2009 and 2019-2020, the In southern Africa, the triumvirate of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa are all considered free. The victor of the latest fighting is likely to be Sudans next president, with the loser facing exile, arrest or death. Renewing America, Timeline Like most dictators, they also often employ secret police and violence to silence critics. Some said they were inspired by the way the junta in neighboring Mali had stood up to France, the increasingly unpopular former colonial power. Web6. The 25 Best Countries View All 29 Slides Sudans regional, economic and strategic importance Sudan is located at a critical nexus, geographically. 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. C.V. Starr & Co. By 2021 this had dropped to 84, yet nearly half of the world's population was still classified as 'at risk' of malaria. Both the military and the public were outraged that their officers were not well-enough equipped or trained to withstand such an attack. Arab Gulf countries have looked to the Horn of Africa in recent years as they have sought to project power across the region. The president is nowhere to be seen. List Of Dictatorship Countries & Countries Ruled by Dictator African countries lose millions of dollars to corruption each year Dagalo, a one-time camel herder from Darfur, has vast livestock holdings and gold mining operations. WebAs of early 2022, the countries of Afghanistan, Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan are the only nations in the world whose governments are generally considered to be Not necessarily. Global Health Program, Innovating Solutions to the Climate Crisis, Virtual Event Nearly all are mired in their own internal conflicts, with various rebel groups operating along the porous borders. After signaling an intention to lift all media bans in the country, Hassan walked back the decision. April 20, 2023. Countries are responding to the World Health Organization (WHO) call to action by putting into place best-practice TFA policies. WebFreedom in the World 2021 Status Change Explanations. The Five Kinds of Dictatorship 1. Panelists discuss how the private and public sectors can partner to develop, scale, and utilize emerging technologies to mitigate and adapt to the consequences of climate change. Shortly afterward, Twitter also followed suit, closing11% of thenearly 3,500 accounts worldwide that allegedly spread pro-government propaganda. Burkina Faso and 5 Other Coups in Africa, Explained - New York Ultimately, said Ms. Schmauder, Military powers are kind of there to stay, and doing everything to cement their own power.. In the last six years alone, at least 26 African countries have experienced transfers of power. From 1967 to 1974, Greece was ruled by an extreme right-wing military dictatorship known as the Regime of the Colonels. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. Read about our approach to external linking. 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.". Ulm-Dsterhft warns users not to download any unknown apps, take a close look at dubious social media accounts, and contact the app operators if in doubt. Dictators in Africa using social media to cling to power 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. Renewing America, Backgrounder On April 21, 1976, a group of four Greek Army colonels overthrew the caretaker government in a coup d'etat. People are fed up with their governments for many reasons major security threats, relentless humanitarian disasters and millions of young people having no prospects. 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. Countries are responding to the World Health Organization (WHO) call to action by putting into place best-practice TFA policies. Return to text. A look at what is happening and the impact it could have outside Sudan. But when the countrys Supreme Court upheld incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addos victory, Mahama accepted the results, conceding that he was legally bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court. Large-scale violence was absent from the electoral process; five people, however, were killed in postelection violence. Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development in Nigeria Eswatini (previously Swaziland) has an absolute monarchy dictatorship in which the king rules over the country. The military also couldnt stop Chads president, Idris Dby, a retired general, from being killed on the battlefield as rebels tried to overthrow his government. As in other parts of the world, it thus remains unclear whether the increasing prevalence and importance of the internet and social media, in their totality, will have a beneficial, deleterious, or ambiguous effect on democracy. China's constitution calls its government a "people's democratic dictatorship." January 31, 2022, How Tobacco Laws Could Help Close the Racial Gap on Cancer, Interactive The former Head of State says the continent cannot thrive politically, socially, and economically if Africans are subjected to despotism. This publication is part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy. The military controls much of the economy, and can also count on businessmen in Khartoum and along the banks of the Nile who grew rich during al-Bashirs long rule and who view the RSF as crude warriors from the hinterlands. A citizen casts her ballot during parliamentary elections in April 2021 in Praia, Cape Verde. What is more, despite growing frustration with the way that multiparty politics is performing, on average democracies generate higher economic growth and do a better job of providing public services, according to a study at the US's Cornell University. Will Merrow created the graphics for this article. With a population that is much younger than those of China, the US and the EU, there will be renewed interest in Indias potential to be a beacon of liberal values. In Tanzania, Uganda's neighbor,Twitter took similar action, removing268 accounts for spreading "malicious reports" directed at members and supporters of the Tanzanian human rights organization Fichua Tanzania and its founder. A political rival accused Obiang of cannibalism in 2004, but no evidence to support the claim has ever surfaced. African Sub-Saharan Africa: undemocratic regimes undermine The Modern Worlds Dictatorship Countries African Dictators A Global View of Dictators Is China a dictatorship? This is a critical point. In many cases, though not all, new military leaders end up delaying the return to civilian rule. Again, the reasons were mainly political, withprotests, electionsand political unrest resulting ininformation shutdowns across the continent, with no end in sight: "It will take a while for those in power to understand that young people today expect them to sit down and talk to them,"political consultant Angelo Izama said. Egypt has close ties to Sudans military, which it sees as an ally against Ethiopia. Arab Gulf countries have looked to the Horn of Africa in recent years as they have sought to project power across the region.