Democracy in Africa

According to the United Nations the International Day of Democracy provides an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. Democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national governing bodies, civil society and individuals. An article in the Daily Nation says that the state of democracy in Africa is one of the most controversial and difficult questions facing the continent today. The article continues to ask the questions whether Africa is getting more or less democratic. Why have so many countries become stuck in a murky middle ground between democracy and authoritarianism? How can we design democracy so that it better fits African realities? To help us unpack the discussion for the day, we are joined by: • Dr Check Achu who is a Senior Research Specialist at the Africa Institute of South Africa – a unit of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) • Ebrahim Fakir is the Director of Programmes at the Auwal Socio-economic Research Institute (ASRI) and a part time lecturer at the Wits School of Governance