African coups and the ‘failure of democracy’ myth, By Jeffrey Smith

Today on the continent of Africa there is an unbroken expanse of territory – from Sudan in the east stretching to Guinea in the west – in which military-led regimes have seized power from civilian heads of state. It is clear that leaders clad in military fatigues are feeling more emboldened than ever.

In the aftermath of each of the recent military coups in Africa, we have been inundated with images of citizens, mainly young people, celebrating in the streets. Once the new reality sets in, however, people are inevitably forced to ask whether they are getting something better, or simply trading one oppressor for another.

Similarly, coups are not a replacement nor a fill-in for free and fair elections in which the will of the people is effectively represented and elected leaders held accountable. In sum: political power shifting from one autocrat to another is not a ‘win’ for the people. The worsening security and human rights situations in a number of post-coup countries across Africa, fromMali to Zimbabwe, highlight this enduring, altogether tragic reality.

Lastly, the troubling spate of coups across Africa have not been caused by failure of democracy,’ as many pundits and recent coup leaders have claimed. This suggestion is both dishonest and misleading. This is because sham elections rigged by often-aging autocrats do not amount to democracy.

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