New Publication: "African Coups and the Limits of Electoralism" by Ernest Harsch

Check out the new article, "African Coups and the Limits of Electoralism," published in Third World Quarterly by IAS affiliate and independent research scholar Ernest Harsch. 

Abstract: "After decades of multiparty elections across much of Africa, the early 2020s brought an unexpected string of military coups. That development worsened anxieties about ‘democratic backsliding’ in the region, especially at a time of authoritarian resurgence across the globe. This article explores the underlying shortcomings of Africa’s democracies as one major factor facilitating coups. Those weaknesses lie in the externally oriented and structurally limited states inherited from colonial times, the narrow electoralist focus of the current democratic systems, and the misconduct of many elected leaders, who have constrained citizen participation, engaged in corruption, and violated or manipulated their own constitutions to remain in power. A focus on recent coups in five countries (Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Gabon) demonstrates how popular disappointment in elected governments, among other elements, helped enable officers to seize power with a measure of popular support. Despite people’s unhappiness with the flaws of Africa’s electoral systems, surveys nevertheless demonstrate continued strong support for the ideals of democracy. Many ordinary Africans, moreover, are mobilising in various ways to advance their own conceptions of democratic practice."