Abstract Contrary to broad claims regarding democratic backsliding across sub-Saharan Africa, our study of democratic processes indicates no such trend. We find instead that the region’s democratic experience over the past two decades largely reflects status quo politics, meaning neither substantial progress nor regression in advancing political and civil liberties since the initial transitions of the early 1990s. This seeming stagnation in African democratization belies ongoing efforts by incumbent leaders to actively undermine key actors (e.g. civil society) or structural conditions (e.g. growing urbanization) that might otherwise lead to greater liberalization. To account for the uneven progress in democratization, despite growing political participation across the region, we argue that Africa’s incumbent leaders have sought to contain democratizing pressures through two interacting processes largely overlooked in the existing literature: legal institutions and international relationships. First, incumbent leaders have relied on the law and courts to curtail the ability of domestic actors to mobilize against them. The strategic use of the law with the aim of holding onto office and strengthening executive powers has undermined other institutions. Second, incumbent leaders have been able to manipulate their international relationships to neutralize the democratizing influence of external actors such as foreign donors and transnational civil society. This includes the strategic use of sovereigntist claims against external intervention in domestic politics.

Abstract International linkages provide key mechanisms that shape the balance between democratizing and autocratizing forces across Africa. Since independence, African incumbents have signaled their compliance with global norms by selectively adhering to various policies. At the same time, at critical periods, civil society actors have been able to utilize international funding and support mechanisms to challenge incumbents. The chapter discusses the complex interplay between international actors and incumbent African governments, as well as civic associations and opposition forces. It demonstrates how key episodes of autocratization can be linked to sovereignty claims made by incumbents toward the international community. External pressures on African incumbents have changed significantly and Africa’s external relations have reinforced the position of incumbent governments in negotiations with international actors. The declining influence of Western international donors, as well as their waning commitment to democracy assistance, have again opened the door for incumbent elites to employ sovereigntist claims as a shield against domestic challenges and contestation for power.