1990s–2010s: (Democracy and Authoritarianism — Benin’s Kerekou Conceding Electoral Defeat in 1991 Then Winning Legitimately in 1996, Mali’s Popular Uprising …

1990s–2010s: (Democracy and Authoritarianism — Benin’s Kerekou Conceding Electoral Defeat in 1991 Then Winning Legitimately in 1996, Mali’s Popular Uprising Against Military Dictatorship, Botswana’s Long Democratic Pedigree, Ghana’s 2008 Razor-Thin Transfer of Power, But Elections as Serious Distractions from Assessing Real Accountability, Nigerian Elections Manipulated by Cash, Côte d’Ivoire’s Gbagbo Refusing to Leave After Losing, Kenya’s 2007 Post-Election Violence, and Former Freedom Fighters Becoming Entrenched Authoritarians — Meles, Isaias, Museveni, Kagame): A wave of people power — a second wave of liberation — has swept the continent since the 1990s. Among the earliest examples was Benin, where the Marxist dictator Kerekou conceded electoral defeat in 1991, only to be returned legitimately in 1996. In Mali, popular uprising overthrew military dictatorship and democracy became well-established despite overwhelming poverty. Botswana has enjoyed robustly contested elections and peaceful retirements of incumbents since 1966. In Ghana, a razor-thin 2008 election result led to peaceful transfer of power on the eve of an oil bonanza. Yet do occasional elections signify deep-rooted democratic culture? The answer seems resoundingly no — elections can be distractions from assessing real accountability and plurality. Nigerian elections continue to be manipulated by those with cash, Côte d’Ivoire’s 2010 loser simply refused to leave, Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence forced an international power-sharing arrangement, and Zimbabwe’s coalition was described by Mugabe as an unbearable creature. As for former freedom fighters: in Ethiopia, the EPRDF’s brief experiment with democracy ended after the contested 2005 elections when opposition was violently suppressed, and in 2010 it won an improbable 99 percent of seats. Museveni in Uganda, Kagame in Rwanda, and Isaias in Eritrea all demonstrate that liberation movements feel they alone have won the right to political control. Millions of Africans have embraced human rights and democratic individualism with vigor, connected via new media to a global community aware of democratic entitlement — but the continent remains a patchwork of success and failure.