Since the late 1980s, the changing dynamic of global development has driven the tide of democratic expansion in the developing world. In Africa, western donors have sought to impose ""neo-liberal"" visions of socio-economic and political institution-building, spreading political reforms and economic liberalization with far-reaching consequences. Associated with external interventions, but also sometimes conflicting with them, are internal protests against authoritarianism, which have problematically reinforced and/or undermined the donor agenda for democratic reform.

Here Usman Tar...