Both regions are now close to their lowest scores since the index began in 2006. The gloom is not unfounded. But a closer look at last year’s events offers hope for change
, run by a military junta, delayed a constitutional referendum earlier this year, almost certainly deferring a return to democracy. Guinea, too, has been run by a junta since a coup in late 2021. Last year Guinea Bissau and The Gambia witnessed failed coup attempts. Farther east in Ethiopia, which was roiled by civil war until a recent peace deal, the army has strengthened its influence over the government.
To the north things are no better. Tunisia, once the beacon of the Arab spring, appears set on a path toafter a power grab last year. In Jordan constitutional amendments have given the king yet more power to pick and fire top judges. Indeed, the torch of democracy is dimming across both regions. Yet there are shafts of light. Democracy remains popular, on average, across the continent . In sub-Saharan Africa about 70% of people tell Afrobarometer, a pollster, that they prefer democratic government to any other sort.
Such opinions are also evident on the streets. In Guinea anti-junta protests, combined with pressure from regional governments, pushed the soldiers into proposing a shorter timetable for a return to civilian rule. In 2022 protesters demanding democracy stood up to violence in Chad, and rallies against the cost of living put pressure on governments in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, too.
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