13 April 2023, 17.00-18.30 CET

School of Government, Luiss Guido Carli

Autocratic tendencies do not manifest exclusively with the takeover of military regimes. In Africa, the concentration of power in a single leader is more often achieved through the prolonged rule of a President with executive powers, who is elected for several terms. However, between 2020 and 2022, military coups returned to the forefront, bringing back the political scenario of some West African states to the 1960s. The fact that five African countries experienced a coup has reignited the debate on the practicability and effectiveness of democracy in Africa.

The inability to alleviate poverty for large parts of the population, the inefficiency and corruption of the ruling classes, the vulnerability to jihadist terrorism, and the serious lack of infrastructure ultimately underpins the fragility of democracies and the return to military and authoritarian solutions.

• What Africa will emerge from this clash between democracy and authoritarianism?
• What role can Italy and Europe have in such a context?

In this event, we will discuss with Amb. Giuseppe Mistretta, to explore possible intervention and cooperation scenarios to help pull part of Africa out of its quicksand.

Moderating:

• Prof. Luigi Narbone, Director of the Mediterranean Platform, School of Government, LUISS.

Speaker:

• Amb. Giuseppe Mistretta, MAECI – Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale

Discussants:

• Prof. Marco Massoni, Professor of African Politics and Society, LUISS

See Publication