Democracy is on the retreat in Africa and around the world. After the heady 1990s, during which democracy flourished in the wake of the end of the Cold War, we have seen two decades of democratic regression. According to Freedom House, which has tracked the health of democracy since 1972, by 2026 Africa had experienced 13 consecutive years of decline in democracy, with a rise in military coups, non-competitive elections, restrictions on civic space and weakened democratic institutions.