Africa's New Authoritarians

The advance -- and consolidation -- of democratisation in states such as Ghana, Benin, Namibia is not the story across the African continent. A distinct and confident form of authoritarianism has emerged in many African countries over the last decade. It is intimately linked to the securitisation of aid and -- mainly Western -- donor efforts to 'stabilise' Africa. These 'new authoritarians', and their relationship with the international system, are the subject of this book. This authoritarianism is not, the book argues, a return to the era of military juntas and presidents-for- life. Africa's new authoritarians are neither professional military men nor civilian leaders but somewhere in-between. Former rebel leaders and cadres, or state security insiders, now govern Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Ethiopia, Chad and Mozambique. Aspects of new African authoritarianism can also be seen in Kenya, Mali, Togo and Nigeria. Africa's New Authoritarians explores how this authoritarianism has interacted with and been sustained by the securitisation of African states' relationships with the outside world. Of central importance here is the observation that this 'securitisation of development' is not simply an external agenda forced upon African polities but is often one promoted and championed by African state-builders themselves.