African regional trends will shape democracy’s success

Subject

African democratic trends.

Significance

The four main sub-regions of Africa -- East, West, Central and Southern -- feature very different levels of democracy. On almost every measure available, including the quality of elections and respect for civil liberties, Southern and West African states perform much better. This pronounced regional pattern is often overlooked, but has important implications for regional relations, development and the consolidation of democracy.

Impacts

• Authoritarian regions generate economic and political traps that make it harder to build democracy and achieve development.
• Peaceful countries located in conflict zones achieve lower levels of economic growth due to reduced trade, undermining development.
• Widening sub-regional gaps will undermine efforts to establish a common position on governance and human rights at the African Union (AU).