War and instability bring African governance progress to a halt: Report
Al Jazeera
Democratic backsliding in Africa reflects global trend towards ‘strongman politics’ emboldening autocrats.
Progress in democratic governance in Africa has ground to a halt, according to a new report issued by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
The latest edition of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, published on Wednesday, found that progress in governance across the continent came to a halt in 2022 following four years of “almost complete stagnation”.
Backsliding in 21 countries means that nearly half of Africa’s population lives with standards of governance that have declined over the past decade, according to billionaire philanthropist Mo Ibrahim.
“It’s not pretty,” he said before the release. “If there is deterioration in governance, if there is corruption, if there is marginalisation … people are going to pick up arms.”
Noting the link between poor governance and violence, Ibrahim referred to “a huge arc of instability and conflicts”, and highlighted the war in Sudan and coups in West and Central Africa.
