Autocracy to democracy: how African autocrats have fallen and what happens next
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Abstract
The past decade was not a good one for African democracies. Many autocrats are still in power and consolidating existing infrastructure to extend their rule indefinitely. However, autocrats eventually fall, both from reasons related to mortality and others. Looking at five cases of autocrats leaving office in the last decade, this paper looks to show that the different methods wherein autocrats are removed from office make a difference in how democracy may be consolidated in the power vacuum. The paper finds that not only does the method of removal not matter, but the power vacuum left by the autocrat does not give room for democracy to grow.
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Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International