Publication of the IV Sahel Europe Dialogue Forum
30 January 2025
The fourth edition of the Sahel Europe Dialogue Forum was held in Madrid (Spain) on 25 and 26 July 2024. Organised by the International Security Centre of the Centre for the Global Common Good of the Francisco de Vitoria University, this forum, a space for dialogue between actors from the Sahel, West Africa and Europe, provided an opportunity to analyse the main risks and challenges in terms of security, diplomatic and humanitarian crises, and governance, as well as to propose solutions. During the forum, one of the round tables, co-organised with Tournons La Page , focused on the theme of democratic consolidation in West Africa: resilience, lessons learned and future perspectives. This article aims to summarise some of the analyses and recommendations made during this debate, but also to reflect some of the contextual changes that have occurred since the Forum.
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Global democracy has experienced a significant decline over the past decade. This trend has affected all geographical regions, with a marked deterioration in freedom of expression marked by a growing repression of civil society. According to the V-Dem Institute's Democracy 2024 report , the majority of the world's population resides in countries with autocratic regimes and the quality of elections has deteriorated considerably, often marred by irregularities and lack of transparency. In line with this global trend, Africa is experiencing a growing democratic deficit.
West Africa and the Sahel region face complex socio-political, security and economic challenges. The desire to acquire and maintain power, and to perpetuate it by inheritance, has led certain leaders, both civilian and military, to circumvent established rules in order to control and manipulate democratic institutions. This way of governing is based on a well-honed triptych: clientelism, corruption and embezzlement of public funds. As a result, they impoverish states and their populations, turning elections into mere transactions in which citizens receive goods or economic incentives in exchange for their support, only to be ignored until the next vote. This cycle perpetuates frustration, discontent and demonstrations as civic space shrinks. Citizens' resilience in the face of increasing social injustice and repression sometimes leads to military coups that are initially seen as "healthy" by the population.
Researchers
Mathieu Pourchier, Executive Director of Tournons la Page
Rodrigue Ahego, Programme Manager at Tournons La Page-Togo (TLP-Togo).
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