Abdou Aziz Diédhiou

Many African countries have experienced growing authoritarianism marked by declining democratic freedoms, expanded military rule, restricted political participation, and crackdowns on media and civil society. Research by the V‑Dem Institute shows sharp global and regional declines in democracy, with Sub‑Saharan Africa seeing increased military coups, strengthened autocratic regimes, and widespread limitations on political rights. A list of ten authoritarian or increasingly authoritarian states details the political conditions in Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Guinea, Eswatini, and Guinea‑Bissau, highlighting suppressed opposition, curtailed freedoms, stalled democratic transitions, and intensified state control across the region.

Research findings highlight a continued decline in democratic governance across sub-Saharan Africa, with military juntas, entrenched autocracies and weakened civic freedoms contributing to shrinking political space. Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Guinea, Eswatini and Guinea-Bissau are identified as the region’s most closed authoritarian regimes, each marked by suspended elections, repression of political opposition and severe constraints on civil liberties. The V-Dem Institute’s data shows a regional return to early 2000s levels of democracy amid widespread coups and strengthened authoritarian structures, affecting the majority of the population and undermining prospects for democratic progress.