DEMOCRACY OR LIBERAL AUTOCRACY; THE CASE OF AFRICA

The state of democracy in Africa continues to be one of the most controversial and difficult questions facing the continent today. While African regimes are more liberal than their authoritarian predecessors, they have a profound flaw. The African governments have increasingly adopted important aspects of constitutional liberalism necessary for democracy to flourish and includes rule of law, private property rights, separation of powers and free speech and assembly. However, the results of such democratic initiatives have not bored the intended fruits as the continent continue to witness outright reversals of democracy. For instance, elections are becoming a means of power preservation and a large number of countries have very low levels of democratic quality. This paper, therefore, seeks to examine this dire state of democracy in Africa to inform discussions on why African governments should be regarded as a Liberal Autocracies and not democratic.