by Soleyana Gebremichael | Apr 26, 2018 | American University
Ethiopia is a country in the horn of Africa that failed under communist military junta even though it successfully conducted a revolution that toppled the 42 years old monarch in 1974. It took 17 years of civil war to bring the current electoral autocracy regime....
by Willie Wells | Apr 14, 2018 | University of Memphis
It has been four years since Egyptians elected their last president. They are returning to the polls this week (Mar 26-28), to re-elect Abdel- Fattah el-Sissi, their incumbent president, to another four-year term. This election will be flawed. The other candidates...
by Dylan Quinn | Apr 13, 2018 | Skidmore College
Quietly and unsurprisingly, President Ian Khama stepped down from his position as the leader of the Republic of Botswana. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) – the dominant force in Botswana politics for the entirety of the country’s independence – grooms and...
by Bailey Markowski | Mar 29, 2018 | Ohio State University
One of the most important aspects of a functioning democracy is its ability to hold its leaders accountable. A lack of checks and balances or of electoral accountability can lead to democratic backsliding, or the rise of authoritarian governments. Mauritius, a small...
by Seth Bartlett | Mar 28, 2018 | Yale University
Botswana is often considered the poster child of post-colonial democratic transition in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has been lauded for maintaining apparently free and fair elections as well as for its generally high levels of economic growth. However, this reputation for...