ACLED in the News
From Algeria to Zimbabwe: How Africa’s Autocratic Elites Cycle In and Out of Power | The Conversation
Source: The Conversation | 24 January 2022
ACLED Executive Director Prof. Clionadh Raleigh outlines new research into political change in African competitive autocracies using the notion of ‘regime cycles.’ This framework, which produced rich insights into the failed democratization processes of the post-communist states during the 1990s, suggests that elites must act collectively if they are to challenge the leader, identifying four stages within a regime cycle. It seeks to explain political change in African autocracies by looking at the role of political elites, focusing on cycles of power between a leader and their rivals which determine their survival — proposing an alternative conceptual framework to interpret dynamics of change in African autocracies.
