Strongman Rule and Democracy: Translating the Success of Professional Bodies into Democratic Reform in Africa

Abstract

This paper looks at the rise of strongman rule around the world and in Africa in particular and shows how this is affecting democracy and democratic institutions. The paper explains the implication of strongman rule on democracy by showcasing its rise in different parts of the world in the contemporary time exacerbated by the tenure of the former president of the United States, Donald Trump. Using the qualitative method of text analysis, it examines what has been said by leaders of goodwill and scholars on the need to protect democracy from the onslaught of strongman rule. It talks about the takeover of the democratic space and digital media space by agents of the strongmen and advocated for a quick response in order to save democracy and democratic institutions. Finally, it calls for the adoption of the ethical practices of professional bodies in Africa in reforming democracy in the continent.

Traditional Practices and Support for the Strongman

“…Authoritarian rule, and more specifically the rule of a “strongman,” is rapidly spreading around the world (Repucci and Slipowitz 2022). Strongman rule can in fact be detected in Russia, China (Pei 2018; Baranovitch 2021), South Asia (Sud 2022), South East Asia (Morgenbesser 2016; Ramos 2021), the Pacific Island States (Fraenkel 2019), South America (Roth 2017), the Middle East and North Africa (Abadeer et al 2022), and in Sub‐Saharan Africa (Owoyemi 2022).…”