Africa has no shortage of crusading youth activists who are fighting for freedom and justice. Despite this, however, the continent seems to be moving away from democracy. This begs the question: Why is Africa getting more authoritarian even as it’s getting younger?

Today, Africa owes over $150 billion to China – not far off from what it collectively owes the International Monetary Fund.

There have been increasingly heated debates around the role and influence of China on the continent. China is Africa’s largest trade partner and it recently established its first mission to the African Union. China offers loans, grants and development deals without the anti-corruption and human rights strings favored by the U.S. and Europe. Due to this ‘non-interference policy,’ there is a belief that China’s economic might is too often used to roll back democratic progress. Studies have shown that when Chinese aid to an African country increases, state violence rises too.

The vast majority of activists killed worldwide are those who defend our land and the environment. 215 last year alone. These activists are killed in shockingly high numbers precisely because the conservation of our common resources pose an ultimate challenge to the powers that be – especially in authoritarian contexts.

This show explored whether we might see a new wave of trials and compensation for victims of atrocities. We will also ask what can be done to support justice and an end the culture of impunity. With varied contributions on Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, we will seek to understand what victims truly want and need to move on. Is truth enough? Are prosecutions necessary for progress and healing? And does reconciliation necessarily require reparations?

This show brought together a diverse set of speakers who are experts in resisting repression from Gambia, Serbia, South Sudan, and Venezuela to help us think through the benefits and limitations of non-violent strategies, as well as new and innovative ways to potentially outmaneuver authoritarian regimes.

This discussion brought together thought leaders from Africa, and experts on Russia and Eastern Europe, to discuss these timely issues. In doing so, we will seek answers as to how the world’s authoritarian leaders can be effectively prevented from exporting their repression.

This show brings together activists, journalists and researchers from Mali, Guinea and Zimbabwe to investigate why coups are back on the African agenda, and what this means for the future of democracy.

Zambia was once considered to be among Africa’s more promising democracies. One of the very few countries to have experienced two democratic transfers of power at the ballot box, the 2011 election saw the victory of an opposition party that promised to end corruption and introduce a national minimum wage. Refusing to buckle under intense government pressure to fix the results in a close election, the electoral commission also appeared to have come of age.

Authoritarian leaders are often concerned with how they are perceived around the world, especially in the media and in foreign capitals like Washington, DC. From Ethiopia to Zimbabwe and from Cameroon and Rwanda to Uganda, even the most brutal despots want to look good in the eyes of the world. As a result, these leaders often prioritize devoting millions of dollars – money that could perhaps be better spent on providing food and healthcare for their own citizens – on international public relations firms that buy positive media coverage, and on foreign lobbyists to push an airbrushed image to investors in foreign capitals.

Liberation movements have played a hugely important role in overthrowing authoritarian and abusive political systems across Africa, including racist white minority regimes in Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

These campaigns are often branded as struggles for freedom and opposed to governmental oppression. In many cases, liberation leaders promised to build more inclusive and egalitarian political systems that would empower ordinary citizens and build a more prosperous and economically vibrant future.

Art is inseparable from politics.

On the one hand, governments often seek to co-opt artists to sanitize their regimes. While on the other hand, painters, singers, poets, writers and satirists have expertly used artistic platforms to expose hypocrisy and abuse while also responding to repression and human suffering. In many African countries, art has evolved into a social and creative movement that communicates key messages in the public arena that are accessible to all. In this way, art can be both a powerful instrument for advocacy and an essential element for reflections on human existence.

This show brings together activists, critical journalists and researchers to ask whether African countries need 'strongmen' to prosper, or whether democracy is better for development, as the available data seems to suggest. Does authoritarian rule have advantages? And if so, what are they? And if dictators are not actually needed, what explains the continued traction of this narrative, which does harm democratic development?

Western governments – in particular, the United States and the United Kingdom – have proclaimed their support for democracy in Africa and around the world for generations, most prominently since the end of World War II. However, there have always been questions -- and genuine skepticism -- surrounding just how sincere this commitment really is.

In this show, we will bring together a stellar lineup of African activists, researchers, and political leaders to ask whether the West can -- or even should -- 'promote democracy' in Africa given these inherent and longstanding tensions.

An increasing number of analysts have accused authoritarian governments like China and Russia of advancing repression abroad, especially in Africa. In addition to financially propping up their preferred strongmen, state-linked companies have helped to strengthen systems of elite corruption. Tech companies have aided in both censorship and disinformation campaigns, particularly around elections, while also using surveillance technology to intimidate and muzzle pro-democracy campaigners and critical journalists.

This show delves into this complex debate and examines what can be done to stop the spread of authoritarian influence in Africa, while also asking how activists and concerned citizens alike can push back to defend freedom in the face of these obstacles.

In recent elections across Africa, the continent’s young masses have been pitted against old, entrenched elites who continue to deny them their basic human rights while refusing to relinquish power. The ongoing struggle of Bobi Wine and the movement he represents in Uganda, for example, is representative of a much broader generational battle –not only over the attainment of real political power, but also economic opportunities and social status.

In this show, our first of 2021, we investigate how young activists, artists and politicians are changing the face of the African continent, and also explore what needs to happen for these movements to unite, build power and influence, and avoid repeating mistakes of the past.

2020 was a profoundly challenging one for democracy and its many defenders around the world, including in Africa. As we discussed and warned on our very first episode of the Resistance Bureau, authoritarian leaders across the continent manipulated the threat of covid-19 to roll back political rights and civil liberties while entrenching their repressive rule.

What is more, elections across the continent in Togo, Burundi, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Tanzania – among others – were far from free and fair, drawing rightful criticism from citizens and outside observers alike. Yet Africa was also home to the only country in the world, according to Freedom House, to make progress on democracy over the last 12 months: Malawi. And we have also seen new forms of protest and civic resistance emerge in countries as varied as Nigeria and Zimbabwe, as well as Zambia, which faces a critical election in August 2021.

As well as looking back at the lessons we learned for resisting authoritarian rule and democratic backsliding, we will also highlight the main issues to look out for in 2021.

To be sure, the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, has been one of the most democratic regional groupings in all of Africa. According to Freedom House, no region in Africa has made more democratic progress over the last quarter century. I personally recall hopes in the region being especially high as recently as 2017, when solidarity, backed up by the threat of military intervention, helped to force out The Gambia’s then long-ruling dictator, Yahya Jammeh, after he had lost an historic election.

In this program we examine why democracy is facing these and similar setbacks across the region. Just as importantly, we look at the ways in which civil society, human rights defenders and opposition political parties are fighting back against these encroachments. We also look to Ghana, still a democratic beacon for the continent, for lessons about how to strengthen democracy, and to look ahead as the country gears up for general elections next month.

American democracy is under threat. From Day 1, President Donald Trump has undermined the spirit, and in some cases, the letter of the United States constitution, all while stoking political polarization and racial tensions. As American citizens gear up for an election on November 3, the Trump Administration is now undermining public confidence in the electoral system and suggesting that he may not peacefully step aside should he lose at the polls. These moves are straight from the playbooks of dictators and despots rather than democrats, and it suggests that the US will have a contested election, increasing the prospects of violence. This episode will assess these mounting threats and determine what lessons and expertise that Africans can share with Americans about how to effectively defend democracy, ensure the rule of law, and promote national healing.

Around the world, women leaders are more likely to be the targets of hate speech and sexual assault. In Africa specifically, they are also less likely to be included in senior government positions. This situation has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has included a spike in gender-based violence and a disproportionate decline in wage earnings. Yet women have continued to come to the fore as outspoken, courageous leaders to challenge the status quo and to lead where their male counterparts have often hesitated. This all-female episode will shine a light on the incredible work being done to resist the patriarchy in Africa and discuss how the pandemic may present an opportunity to forge more equitable societies.