Coups in African Countries: Meaning and Impact

Sungwon Lee

sw.lee@sejong.org​

Research Fellow

The Sejong Institute

     The theory of democratic crisis has been going on for years. Regardless of the criteria, the decrease of influence from democracy at the global level is undeniable. In discussing the current democratic crisis, political polarization, weakened party politics, limited civil society functions, and the regressive behavior of elected leaders can be pointed out as major challenges. However, in another aspect, it cannot be overlooked that the democratic crisis is intensifying due to the transition and proliferation of a non-democratic country's shift toward authoritarianism. According to an analysis report published in 2023 by the V-dem Institute in Sweden, the proportion of the population living in countries experiencing authoritarian transitions worldwide has increased sharply from 6% in 2010 to 34% in 2020. As of 2022, the transition to authoritarianism is taking place in 42 countries.​