Is democracy still a viable solution in Africa? A journey through long-standing and new democratic practices

At a time when external influences from authoritarian countries, military coups and backlash of human rights are fueling the rise of neo-sovereignism in Africa, is democracy no longer a viable solution for the continent? Academic studies highlight long-standing democracy practices that have been carried out in villages in the countryside or in districts of cities, and not only in public facilities but also in safe public spaces (“street Parliaments”, agoras, forums or “grins” like in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire). 

Moreover, recent publications from networks of practitioners reveal a new rise of democratic practices in Africa focusing on contemporary challenges such as the user-centric design of public services, adaptation to climate change impacts, action against the erosion of biodiversity, and most importantly, the relationship to the living world. 

Beyond democratic backlash, lessons learnt on democratic trajectories reveal positive and negative dynamics in Africa: a mosaic of paths for countries and regional trends making up a complex reality for such a large continent. Vulnerabilities are numerous when one thinks of coups and the rise of anti-colonialist feelings (like, for example in Mali and Niger). North Africa is facing the end of the hopes brought about by the Arab Spring, in particular in Tunisia, and even Kenya, South Africa, and Senegal are challenged on many issues (i.e., human rights, multipartyism, the fight for reliable information and media, etc.).

This retreat in favour of authoritarian state regimes and practices is combined with a slackening of the traditional forms of power entrusted to representatives from the ballot box. Nonetheless, if we look at the blooming of initiatives and experiments aimed at rethinking the power to act in several directions, the overall picture is somewhat optimistic.

A new agenda for democratic renewal
Africa is a land of little-known innovation in the field of power and public action, the latter two being classically embodied into citizen movements for democratic transitions (like the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution in Guinea, Struggle for Change - Lucha - in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Y'en a marre in Senegal, Balai Citoyen in Burkina Faso, Hirak in Algeria, etc.). 

More recently, a movement of “democratic renewal” to broaden democratic electoral/representative practices, feeds a set of endogenous practices. The latter are nourishing a process of decolonisation of democracy itself. Initiatives taken by groups from civil society, or at the intersection of institutions and citizens, embody in fact a “deliberative democracy” that seeks to build consensus, confidence, legitimacy and aim to open and renew the limited practices of representative democracy. These innovations can create a breach, even in an authoritarian state, or accompany democratic consolidation and resilience.
   
New democratic practices “from the bottom”: successful examples of renewed democratising practices
Three occurrences will illustrate this new trend that reinvents relations between institutions and citizens.

• Rethinking administrations that are open to citizens. Morocco has been ahead of the game as early as 2013, with the improvement of public services, a common thread running through public policies. These approaches may be limited to technical and technological advancements by integrating digital tools in the provision of public services but can also go as far as offering users co-creation workshops to imagine the services of tomorrow (the cities of Larache and Chefchaouen were pioneers). Other examples of democratising public administrations can be found in Niger, as part of the country’s redesign of basic public services. In the 2010s, the Office of the High Commissioner for State Modernisation proposed the concept of an "ambulant public service" which would allow to go beyond the classical administrative concrete-made centres to a more dynamic and on-the-field supply of public services additionally reaching nomadic or semi nomadic households.

• Unlock citizen control and interpellation. African Citizen Watch is an example of a successful project implemented in three countries in southern Africa to monitor the translation of election promises into concrete action to support citizen interpellation. The “civic tech” platform was created in Zimbabwe, then expanded to Malawi and Zambia. Additionally, urban laboratories (frequently led by local authorities with NGOs) such as those in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Nairobi, Kenia or Lagos, Nigeria give space to citizens-inhabitants to redesign their public areas, plant trees and discuss their living environment. This means that not all practices need to be technological in nature but can be based on the capacity to reinvent a liveable future.

• Climate, life and access to energy: strengthening citizen dialogue. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA, based in Sweden) has recently compiled an inventory of experiences of citizen assemblies on climate in the Global South. Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique have already experimented with this format of consultation on energy transition, just transition, soft mobility modes, and disaster risk reduction and prevention. Citizen assemblies deliver policy inputs on environmental disasters and how to respond to erosion of biodiversity through regenerative agri-practices among others (IDEA, 2024). Citizens are typically recruited through stratified random sampling. Assemblies last two to six days, with the majority taking place in person. Urban planning is one of the most popular topics of deliberation. Academic institutions, deliberative democracy networks, international development and aid agencies, and philanthropic organisers support the growth of citizens’ assemblies. Outputs take the form of recommendations to decision-makers or a report outlining participants’ policy preferences before and after deliberations.

Working more with the African Union or other African regional communities can help the community of donors, including the European Commission, to fund pilot initiatives and scale up all these democratic initiatives dealing not only with civic rights but also climate adaptation, ageing and end of life, sobriety of lifestyles, and much more.

Conclusion 
Africa is going through a complex period of contradictory processes. At the political level, there are clear setbacks, denials of human rights perceived as “western” (for example, LGBTQIA+ rights, and the right to abortion), situations blurred by foreign interference and coups, but also forms of resilience and progress in some of the continent’s countries. 

At the societal level, there is a desire to build a decolonised democracy based on manifest sovereignty, nourished by citizen mobilisations, civil society actions and reformers within administrations that are eager to innovate. In a global context marked by democratic decline, the record of the trajectories of African countries is therefore mixed and requires broadening the focus beyond only electoral dynamics and institutional functioning.

For the community of the donors and the design of projects, in particular in enlargement countries (beyond Africa) or working in democratic structuring or resilience-building against backlash, the core vision is twofold:

1. work as far as possible directly to protect and/or expand civic and political rights monitored through the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) 2 Governance indicator, which shows that the project has been designed with that principal objective;

2. mainstream key human rights principles (citizen participation, accountability of institutions, transparency of public action/policies) in all sector-based operations (water, energy, transport, education, ...).

A practical approach in Africa and beyond is now, more than ever necessary. One that focuses on safeguarding civic and political freedoms while contributing to inclusive, accountable and sustainable governance structures.

References

Revue Politique africaine, Ce que « parler au grin » veut dire : sociabilité urbaine, politique de la rue et reproduction sociale en Côte d'Ivoire. N° 127(3), 91-108. VINCOURT, S., KOUYATE S. (2012). 

Deliberative Democracy and Climate Change: Exploring the Potential of Climate Assemblies in the Global South | International IDEA (Institut international pour la démocratie et l’assistance électorale) (2024).

Sortir de la grande nuit : Essai sur l'Afrique décolonisée, MBEMBE A., Éditions La Découverte, Paris (2010).

L’économie africaine 2025, Trajectoires démocratiques africaines : tensions, pratiques de résilience et nouvel agenda, Barthel P-A., Duarte L., Kouyate S., Lechien O., Editions La Découverte, Paris (2025).

Grandes lignes : Podcast, Agence française du développement, 2025.