Democratic backsliding is a gradual erosion and hollowing out of democratic rules, institutions, rights, and accountability. Instead of a sudden collapse, it often happens when elected leaders manipulate legal systems, undermine electoral agencies, constrain opposition parties, repress civil society and restrict civil liberties. Therefore, it is not just about whether there are elections but about whether the broader democratic system supports their importance. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems describes democratic backsliding as occurring in three stages: democratic erosion, democratic breakdown, and autocratic deepening. Erosion is more difficult to identify because it can resemble routine legal and political reform even…
Owami Tshuma
Owami is a junior data analyst intern in the Governance Insights and Analytics programme at Good Governance Africa. She is completing a Master’s degree in e-Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, building on a foundation in International Relations and Political Science. Her research interests focus on political economy with a particular focus on development and elections. She is especially interested in the intersection of governance, economic development, and institutional quality.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has projected that Africa’s urban population will double from around 717 million in 2020 to 1.4 billion by 2050, to become the world’s second-largest urban population after Asia. At the same time, urbanisation has contributed roughly 30% of Africa’s GDP per capita growth over the past two decades. African cities are therefore not peripheral to development; they are central to it. Africa’s projected urban growth represents a valuable demographic resource and major economic opportunities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Yet this potential is deeply complicated by the persistence and expansion of informal…
“I am thirty years old now, and ever since I completed my secondary education, I have been looking for a job to no avail. But for galamsey, I would still be unemployed. Now I am employed here and able to provide for my family’s needs… Galamsey is our saviour here.” This quote from a 30-year-old miner in Ghana’s western region, published in an August 2016 article published in the Oxford Developmental Studies journal, reflects the reality for thousands of young people in the region, where unemployment has more than doubled in the past year. Ghana, famously called the Gold Coast,…
