Insightful discussion on "Next Generation Democracy" with panelist from @FNF_Africa @_DASonline @CompPolAfrica @AuswaertigesAmt and @starkwatzinger and Laureate of the #GermanAfrica Award 2025 #NamataiKwekweza from Zimbabwe #upfordemocracy @FNFreiheit

26-year-old activist Namatai Kwekweza from #Zimbabwe🇿🇼 advocates for civil liberties and democratic reforms in her home country, even as the environment becomes increasingly restrictive. She calls for greater accountability and youth participation.

#Bamako is under pressure, not under siege This is an insightful article countering overly alarmistic descriptions of the situation and providing the perspective of two Malian researchers #JNIM #Mali https://t.co/MxCvmQLdM4

Six in 10 Ugandans (60%) say they fear political intimidation and violence during election campaigns at least “somewhat,” including 45% who fear them “a lot.” Head over to our website to read more: https://t.co/RsAbNv01FZ #Uganda #Elections #VoicesAfrica

https://t.co/G6umaPFPSY

This closely matches our own findings from phone surveys in coup affected countries:

be to use our network data collected in 2022 to trace further changes under Samia. The fact that she had to rebalance the old factions with Magufuli appointees AND build her power base might reveal important patterns of intra-elite bargaining that help to explain current events

Patterns of rule shifted significantly under Magufuli, but the basis for his success lies in the increasing factional tensions within the CCM which gave him the power to act as the arbiter and to manipulate party institutions and nominations to his favor. The next step will

Why is #Tanzania becoming more repressive? Electoral autocracies are not static, they fine tune cooptation, personalism, and repression. In our paper on the Magufuli period we identify factionalism as a source of personalization and increased repression

Can military regimes outperform civilian ones? While this might surprise some observers, survey data from #Gabon, #Mali and #BurkinaFaso find support for this. In Burkina, people believe that military "gets things done" and is more effective in fighting insecurity #IbrahimTraore

Do people in Africa think that the withdrawal of the #AES countries from #Ecowas is justified? According to our data, they do. Only a minority in Gabon (July 2024), Mali (November 2024), and Burkina Faso (September 2025) disagree. #Mali #BurkinaFaso #AES #Ecowas

Police in Tanzania have imposed a curfew following a tense polling day marked by protests and unrest in several parts of the country. Internet services have also been shut down, while several people have been injured during protests.

The data in the paper are from our own DLEDA-project (Do Legislatures Enhance Democracy in Africa?), data on ministers are taken from the ACPED project @cliona_raleigh

Another dinosaur holding on to his throne. And in a country where the median age is 18 years. Ivory Coast 🇨🇮

Paul Biya's Cameroon 🇨🇲 is burning today.

Ivory Coast president, 83, secures fourth term after two rivals barred

in high positions which makes power even more centralized without a clear succession plan. From a rational perspective, core elites will cling to the system as long as they can. But the time is running out and the excessively personalist system is incredibly difficult to reform

For ministers, the mean tenure in office is 84 months. In parliament- despite some renewal and diversification- key positions are filled with people who serve in their 9th or 10th term. The president‘s ethnic group is overrepresented, but there are few direct family members

Data on political appointments show that Biya is surrounded by a core elite of people from the same generation. This presents an obstacle to peaceful change: old elites will opt for stability under Biya if they fear that their positions are uncertain under a new leader.

For background see our paper: