Making Democracy Count - Case of African Nations

In the African context, potential CIs are found at every level of political engagement: from local community-organizing efforts to the AU’s Peace and Security Council. The performance of formal institutions has been mixed, and (with some exceptions) legislatures have not tended to fulfil the role of CIs on the continent. Instead, judiciaries and fourth-branch institutions have been the most effective limitations on executive power. Where formal institutions have proven unable to deliver democratic accountability and voice, new protest movements have been created, potentially providing a people-powered CI. Several hindrances to democratic consolidation across the continent remained pertinent in 2023, namely, heads of state who gain or maintain power in unconstitutional ways, dominant parties that lack internal democracy, weak parliaments, unaccountable police and security forces, endemic corruption and the negative effects of geopolitical competition for influence in Africa. Efforts to support CIs must take on these problems, and find innovative ways to constrain and balance executive power and thereby support democratic consolidation.