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The 21st century was meant to be a golden age for democracy – but these days, it looks like anything but. The promise of the Arab Spring has been squandered in almost every country where it originally took hold; Russia and Turkey are rapidly headed into outright authoritarianism, and the far right is making headway across Europe. Natasha Ezrow takes a look at the world’s dictatorships and explains why we should be worried.
Meanwhile, presidents in Africa just can’t seem to keep from fiddling with term limits. While Burundi’s president has called a referendum on whether to extend his term from five to seven years, his counterparts elsewhere have simply abolished or ignored such restrictions. Cheryl Hendricks and Gabriel Ngah Kiven warn that if the trend continues, the result could be large-scale political violence.
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EPA/Alexei Druzhinin
Natasha Ezrow, University of Essex
At first, the 2010s seemed full of hope for democracy. The picture today is rather more complicated.
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Politics + Society
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Cheryl Hendricks, University of Johannesburg; Gabriel Ngah Kiven, University of Johannesburg
More leaders in more African countries will abolish term limits unless organisations like the African Union take action.
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Hanlie Booysen, Victoria University of Wellington
To understand how Syria has become the theatre for proxy wars between international forces, one has to return to the Arab uprisings and Syria's role as an outlier.
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Leonie Fleischmann, City, University of London
Thanks to a violent fringe of protesters backed by Hamas, a far larger non-violent movement is struggling to control the narrative of what's happening in Gaza.
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Arts + Culture
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Lara-Stephanie Krause, University of Cape Town
It's not far-fetched to suspect that the common understanding of the idea of "mother tongues" in South Africa is coloured by outside influences.
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Mubashar Hasan, University of Oslo
In voicing youthful outrage over inequality and violence, Bangladeshi rappers are creating a powerful form of protest music — just as American MCs have done for 40 years.
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Business + Economy
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Kutlwano Ramaboa, University of Cape Town
African business schools can benefit from the rigourous process offered by global rankings and accreditations.
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Environment + Energy
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Josh Lepawsky, Memorial University of Newfoundland
No amount of post-consumer recycling can recoup the waste generated before consumers purchase their devices.
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Health + Medicine
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Kate Rees, University of Cape Town; Remco Peters, University of Pretoria
In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa men who have sex with men encounter stigma and prejudice when accessing health services.
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