Popular Protest, Political Opportunities, and Change in Africa

This book offers a fresh analysis of third wave popular protests in Africa, shedding light on the complex dynamics between political change and continuity in contemporary Africa. The book argues that protests are simultaneously products and generators of change in that they are triggered by micro-and-macrosocial changes, but they also have the capacity to transform the nature of politics. By examining the triggers, actors, political opportunities, resources, and framing strategies, the contributors shed light onto tangible (e.g. policy implementation, liberal reforms, political alternation) and intangible (e.g. perceptions, imagination, awareness) forms of change elicited by protests. It reveals the relevant role of African protests as engines of democracy, accountability, and collective knowledge. Bringing popular protests in authoritarian and democratic settings into discussion, this book will be of interest to scholars of African politics, democracy, and protest movements.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Youth-Led Social Movements and Peacebuilding in Africa

This book critically examines and analyses the active role played by youth-led social movements in pushing for change and promoting peacebuilding in Africa, and their long-term impacts on society. Africa’s history is characterised by youth movements. The continent’s youth populations played pivotal roles in the campaign against colonialism and, ever since independence, Africa’s youth have been at the center of social mobilisation. Most recently, social media has contributed significantly to a further rise in youth-led social movements. However, the impact of youth voices is often marginalised by patriarchal and gerontocratic approaches to governance, denying them the place, voice, and recognition that they deserve. Drawing on empirical evidence from across the continent, this book analyses the drivers and long-term impacts of youth-led social movements on politics in African societies, especially in the area of peacebuilding. The book draws attention to the innovative ways in which young people continue to seek to re-engineer social space and challenge contexts that deny them their voice, place, recognition and identity. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of social movement studies, youth studies, peace and conflict studies, history, political sciences, social justice, and African studies

Popular Protest, Political Opportunities, and Change in Africa

This book offers a fresh analysis of third wave popular protests in Africa, shedding light on the complex dynamics between political change and continuity in contemporary Africa. The book argues that protests are simultaneously products and generators of change in that they are triggered by micro-and-macrosocial changes, but they also have the capacity to transform the nature of politics. By examining the triggers, actors, political opportunities, resources and framing strategies, the contributors shed light onto tangible (e.g. policy implementation, liberal reforms, political alternation) and intangible (e.g. perceptions, imagination, awareness) forms of change elicited by protests. It reveals the relevant role of African protests as engines of democracy, accountability and collective knowledge. Bringing popular protests in authoritarian and democratic settings into discussion, this book will be of interest to scholars of African politics, democracy and protest movements

Youth-Led Social Movements and Peacebuilding in Africa

This book critically examines and analyses the active role played by youth-led social movements in pushing for change and promoting peacebuilding in Africa, and their long-term impacts on society. Africa’s history is characterised by youth movements. The continent’s youth populations played pivotal roles in the campaign against colonialism and, ever since independence, Africa’s youth have been at the center of social mobilisation. Most recently, social media has contributed significantly to a further rise in youth-led social movements. However, the impact of youth voices is often marginalised by patriarchal and gerontocratic approaches to governance, denying them the place, voice, and recognition that they deserve. Drawing on empirical evidence from across the continent, this book analyses the drivers and long-term impacts of youth-led social movements on politics in African societies, especially in the area of peacebuilding. The book draws attention to the innovative ways in which young people continue to seek to re-engineer social space and challenge contexts that deny them their voice, place, recognition and identity. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of social movement studies, youth studies, peace and conflict studies, history, political sciences, social justice, and African studies

Judicialization of Election Disputes in Africa\u27s International Courts

This article assesses what benefit losers of high-stakes national elections think they will get from petitioning international courts in Africa. We seek to establish how judicial intervention differs before an election when there is a risk of an international law violation, versus after an election has occurred and the result is viewed as flawed. We address these questions by drawing on a set of disputes decided by international courts in Africa in the African Court, the Economic Community of West African States (“ECOWAS”) Community Court of Justice, and the East African Court of Justice. We supplement our analysis by discussing two important mega-political electoral disputes at the national level. Together, all the cases we analyze involve deeply divisive disputes surrounding competitive presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative elections that had significant political consequences

Judicialization of Election Disputes in Africa\u27s International Coruts

This article assesses what benefit losers of high-stakes national elections think they will get from petitioning international courts in Africa. We seek to establish how judicial intervention differs before an election when there is a risk of an international law violation, versus after an election has occurred and the result is viewed as flawed. We address these questions by drawing on a set of disputes decided by international courts in Africa in the African Court, the Economic Community of West African States (“ECOWAS”) Community Court of Justice, and the East African Court of Justice. We supplement our analysis by discussing two important mega-political electoral disputes at the national level. Together, all the cases we analyze involve deeply divisive disputes surrounding competitive presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative elections that had significant political consequences

Contemporary francophone west African social movements in the rise of neo pan-africanism: a case study of y en a marre in Senegal.

The emergence of the Y en a marre movement in 2011 has reshaped the face of social activism in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. In less than a decade of its existence, Y’en a marre has become iconic in Senegalese civil society and beyond. Their effective opposition to the Wade regime between 2011 and 2012 reverberated beyond the Senegalese border through their slogan “touche pas à ma constitution” (Do not touch my constitution), a rallying cry that young people in Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo later appropriated, thus giving the movement a Pan-African platform. The birth of Y’en a Marre and its confrontation methods (street protests, verbal attacks via radio, TV, concerts, rap sons to name a few) enabled several important interrogations that this project aims at exploring. What triggers the formation of social movements in contemporary Senegal and Francophone West Africa? How does Y’en a Marre’s blueprint fit in the general struggle for Pan-Africanism today? How are music and art used to create a transnational solidarity against bad governance and foreign influence in West African affairs? This dissertation explores how contemporary social movements in Francophone West Africa are re-appropriating Pan-African principles to fight for democracy and good governance as well as to curb foreign influence in African affairs. This dissertation argues that such movements use various innovative means including music, visual art, social media, and street protests to draw popular support and foment resistance to confront regimes that fail to safeguard basic democratic principles, such as fair and transparent elections. In doing so, social movements in Francophone West Africa help foster a new era in the development of Pan-Africanism called “Neo Pan-Africanism” in which social activist and popular movements become one of the key driving forces of Pan-Africanism as a transatlantic movement and ideology. The dissertation also contends that the Y’en a marre movement is spearheading a new type of transnational collaboration partly grounded in popular culture (especially hip-hop), advocacy training and sometimes litigation, to enable social movements in West Africa to fight against common issues that pertain to the safeguard of their national sovereignties

Weapons of Control, Shields of Impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022

From Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, authorities are imposing internet shutdowns at staggering rates. In 2022 alone, governments and other actors disrupted the internet at least 187 times across 35 countries — breaking our #KeepItOn record for the number of countries to hit the kill switch in a single year. Not only are shutdowns resurging after a decrease at the height of the pandemic, they're lasting longer, targeting specific populations, and are being wielded when people need a connection the most — including during humanitarian crises, mass protests, and active conflict and war

Evading accountability through internet shutdowns: Trends in Africa and the Middle East

Governments around the world frequently use internet shutdowns (see Box 1 for definition) to disguise and evade accountability for grave human rights violations, including illegitimate grabs for power, statesanctioned violence against peaceful protestors and even extra-judicial killings of political dissidents. This paper draws attention to key examples of this happening in recent years across Africa and the Middle East, and identifies common trends and factors driving the use of internet shutdowns in this way. The paper also makes recommendations for governments, the private sector, regulators and international human rights institutions as to how to call attention to and push back against this trend and ensure that victims of human rights abuses can properly call attention to their plight and access redress

Togo's Political and Socio-Economic Development (2019-2021) (author's extended and annotated version of BTI 2022 - Togo Country Report)

The Gnassingbé clan has ruled the country since 1967. The demand for political alternance, constituted the major contentious issue between the government and the challengers of the Gnassingbé regime throughout the survey period. The first local elections since more than 30 years took finally place on 30 June 2019 and resulted in the victory of the ruling party. Shortly afterwards, in February 2020, the President won also the disputed presidential elections and thus consolidated his power, assisted by the loyal army and security services. The outbreak of the Corona epidemic in Togo in April 2020 and the subsequent economic recession may have contributed to limit popular protest against the Gnassingbé regime. The human rights record of the government has improved but remains poor. Despite undeniable improvements to the framework and appearance of the regime's key institutions during the review period, democracy remains far from complete. However, the international community, notably Togo’s African peers, the AU and ECOWAS, followed a 'laissez-faire' approach in the interests of regional stability and their national interests in dealing with Togo. Economic growth remained stable at about 5% per annum (before Corona). Public investment in infrastructure and increases in agricultural productivity, notably of export crops, had been the key drivers of economic growth. However, growth remains vulnerable to external shocks and the climate and has not been inclusive. Moreover, it was overshadowed by increasing inter-personal and regional inequality as well as an increase in extreme poverty. Money-laundering, illegal money transfers and trafficking grew alarmingly. Nevertheless, the business climate improved considerably