BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Telerik Inc.//Sitefinity CMS 15.1//EN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Eastern Standard Time BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=11 TZNAME:Eastern Standard Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250301T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=2SU;BYHOUR=2;BYMINUTE=0;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:Eastern Daylight Time TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:This webinar is a part of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affa ir’s Citizenship Challenge Series and is hosted by the Maxwell African Sch olars Union. \;Join our panel of three experts in an international web inar to explore these aspects of authoritarianism in Africa.Authoritariani sm is often associated with a high degree of repression\, centralization o f power and limited individual choices—the polar opposite of a democratic system. Yet\, cases from Africa reveal the dynamic and fluid nature of aut horitarianism. Such dynamism and fluidity are apparent in the relationship between arbitrary power and its institutional and legal constraints regar ding issues such as justice and security within a state. This can be seen in cases where recent decades of democratic gain have receded when some Af rican political incumbents have exploited the weaknesses of their countrie s’ institutional oversight. For some scholars\, such recession is a sympto m of Africa’s inheritance of political systems that are compromised by his torical antecedents of weak nation building and unsustainable constitution al implementation efforts. Panelists:Dominika Koter\, Ph.D.Associate Prof essor of Political Science \;Colgate UniversityDemocratic Backsliding from Within: Incumbents’ Strategies of Democratic ErosionIn recent years\, many scholars and analysts have raised concerns about the slide toward au thoritarianism\, or democratic backsliding\, in Africa. Yet\, other schola rs find the talk of democratic decline too alarmist. I will first review t he latest evidence for (or against) increasing authoritarianism and discus s theories about factors contributing to it. There is general consensus th at where democratic backswing has happened\, it happened largely from with in\, namely as a result of institutional reforms undertaken by incumbent p residents to weaken political competition\, oversight\, and to entrench th eir power. I will review these incumbent strategies\, using recent promine nt examples\, such as Benin\, a country that saw one of the most dramatic degrees of democratic erosion in recent years. I will argue that in the ca se of Benin\, as in many other cases\, the slide towards authoritarianism was engineered using legal and formal means\, exploiting the weakness of t he country’s institutional oversight.Eric Otenyo\, Ph.D.Professor and NAU Diversity FellowNorthern Arizona UniversityAuthoritarianism and the Residu al Imperial Presidencies in Sub Saharan AfricaThis talk is about the struc tural roots of authoritarianism in Africa. The discussion centers around t he idea that at independence\, African nations found it difficult to desig n constitutions to undergird frameworks of governance that would guarantee sufficient rail guards against authoritarianism. In other words\, pervasi ve and lingering forms of authoritarianism are a manifestation of unfinish ed business of nation and state building. So\, to understand pervasive aut horitarianism\, we must look at its historical antecedents in the initial weak nation building and constitutional implementation efforts. We reflect on the question\, why does authoritarianism persist despite growth in Afr ican constitutional imaginations?Rebecca Tapscott\, Ph.D.Ambizione Fellow\ , Geneva Graduate Institute \;Visiting Fellow\, University of Edinburg hVisiting Fellow\, London School of Economics and Politics \;Arbitrary Power and Its Constraints: Reflecting on Authoritarianism in \;Africa What explains the strength of authoritarianism in Africa? Rebecca Tapscott proposes that central to understanding this question is a dynamic and flu id relationship between arbitrary power—the unrestrained and unaccountable power of the executive—and its institutional and legal restraints. Empiri cally\, the study focuses on local violent actors in Uganda as an instance of the state simultaneously mobilizing local authorities for everyday gov ernance\, while denying those authorities the ability to meaningfully cons olidate autonomous authority. This view illustrates how these regimes outs ource responsibility for key services associated with state sovereignty (j ustice and security)\, without relinquishing authority. The findings speak to the question at hand by illuminating how spaces for claim-making and p olitical activity can both exist and be unable to meaningfully contend wit h authoritarian power. Tapscott situates these insights within contemporar y research on everyday authoritarianism to show how they nuance and advanc e existing explanations for the tenacity of authoritarianism in Africa. DTEND:20230421T193000Z DTSTAMP:20260510T175857Z DTSTART:20230421T180000Z LOCATION: SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Authoritarianism in Africa: Moynihan Institute’s Challenges to Citi zenship Webinar UID:RFCALITEM639140183372940676 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

This webinar is a part of the Moynihan Inst itute of Global Affair’s Citizenship Challenge Series and is hosted by the Maxwell African Scholars Union. \;Join our panel of three experts in an international webinar to explore these aspects of authoritarianism in A frica.

Authoritarianism is often associated with a high degree of r epression\, centralization of power and limited individual choices—the pol ar opposite of a democratic system. Yet\, cases from Africa reveal the dyn amic and fluid nature of authoritarianism. Such dynamism and fluidity are apparent in the relationship between arbitrary power and its institutional and legal constraints regarding issues such as justice and security withi n a state. This can be seen in cases where recent decades of democratic ga in have receded when some African political incumbents have exploited the weaknesses of their countries’ institutional oversight. For some scholars\ , such recession is a symptom of Africa’s inheritance of political systems that are compromised by historical antecedents of weak nation building an d unsustainable constitutional implementation efforts.

Panelists:< /p>

Dominika K oter\, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Political Science \ ;
Colgate University

Democratic Backsliding from Within: Incumbents’ Strategies o f Democratic Erosion

In recent years\, many scholars and anal ysts have raised concerns about the slide toward authoritarianism\, or dem ocratic backsliding\, in Africa. Yet\, other scholars find the talk of dem ocratic decline too alarmist. I will first review the latest evidence for (or against) increasing authoritarianism and discuss theories about factor s contributing to it. There is general consensus that where democratic bac kswing has happened\, it happened largely from within\, namely as a result of institutional reforms undertaken by incumbent presidents to weaken pol itical competition\, oversight\, and to entrench their power. I will revie w these incumbent strategies\, using recent prominent examples\, such as B enin\, a country that saw one of the most dramatic degrees of democratic e rosion in recent years. I will argue that in the case of Benin\, as in man y other cases\, the slide towards authoritarianism was engineered using le gal and formal means\, exploiting the weakness of the country’s institutio nal oversight.

Eric Otenyo\, Ph.D.

Professor and N AU Diversity Fellow
Northern Arizona University

Authoritarianism and the Residual Imperial Presidencies in Sub Saharan Africa

This talk is abo ut the structural roots of authoritarianism in Africa. The discussion cent ers around the idea that at independence\, African nations found it diffic ult to design constitutions to undergird frameworks of governance that wou ld guarantee sufficient rail guards against authoritarianism. In other wor ds\, pervasive and lingering forms of authoritarianism are a manifestation of unfinished business of nation and state building. So\, to understand p ervasive authoritarianism\, we must look at its historical antecedents in the initial weak nation building and constitutional implementation efforts . We reflect on the question\, why does authoritarianism persist despite g rowth in African constitutional imaginations?

Rebecca Tapscott\, Ph.D.

Ambizione Fellow\, Geneva Graduate Institute \;Visiting Fellow\, University of Edinburgh
Visiting Fellow\, London Sc hool of Economics and Politics \;

Arbitrary Power and Its Constraints: Reflectin g on Authoritarianism in \;Africa

What explains the stren gth of authoritarianism in Africa? Rebecca Tapscott proposes that central to understanding this question is a dynamic and fluid relationship between arbitrary power—the unrestrained and unaccountable power of the executive —and its institutional and legal restraints. Empirically\, the study focus es on local violent actors in Uganda as an instance of the state simultane ously mobilizing local authorities for everyday governance\, while denying those authorities the ability to meaningfully consolidate autonomous auth ority. This view illustrates how these regimes outsource responsibility fo r key services associated with state sovereignty (justice and security)\, without relinquishing authority. The findings speak to the question at han d by illuminating how spaces for claim-making and political activity can b oth exist and be unable to meaningfully contend with authoritarian power. Tapscott situates these insights within contemporary research on everyday authoritarianism to show how they nuance and advance existing explanations for the tenacity of authoritarianism in Africa.

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