January 14, 2025 | Washington DC 

The second session of the Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations series took place on January 14th, 2025, at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC. This collaborative effort between the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen), and the Wilson Center’s Africa Program brought together experts to discuss the geopolitical shifts and increasing prominence of middle and emerging powers on the African continent, particularly its implications for democratic governance, security issues, and Africa-US relations.  

Cyril Obi, Program Director of the APN and Next Gen Program, emphasized the program’s focus on supporting high-quality policy-relevant research by African scholars based in Africa, aligning this with the activities of the Wilson Center’s Africa Program to contextualize the organizations’ partnership. He summarized the output from the inaugural session: a set of recommendations for the incoming US administration to have a bold approach towards democratic engagement on the African continent. He asked the panelists to reflect on how Africa’s shifting alliances might impact its democratic governance and relations with the US, and how Western powers should respond to maintain influence, build trust, and demonstrate reliability in their engagements with Africa.  

Oge Onubogu, Director of the Wilson Center’s Africa Program, highlighted the importance of timing the conversation to coincide with the incoming Trump administration in the US, the emergence of new leadership at the African Union, and South Africa’s assumption of the presidency of the G20. She invited the speakers to reflect on how the incoming US administration and African institutions can position themselves to collaborate effectively. 

Fonteh Akum, Executive Director of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Africa, outlined four pillars for engagement between the US and specific African countries: security cooperation, consolidating democratic governance, supporting economic development, and the crystalizing of African agency by tapping into Africa’s demographic power (underlining the potential of Africa’s youthful population), and by bolstering investments in education and capacity building.  

Shifting the conversation to the mixed outcomes of elections in Southern Africa last year, Director Onubogu asked for insights on the current situation in Mozambique and the potential role the incoming US administration can play in addressing the country’s post-election crisis.  

Siphokazi Magadla,  Associate Professor of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University, South Africa, discussed the lack of democratic norms in Southern Africa—a region historically held together by its legacies of national liberation but witnessing shifts in democratic trends with the election of new governments. She explained that young people were showing liberation movements turned ruling parties that they could be voted out if they failed to deliver on improving the quality of lives of citizens. On the election of Namibia’s first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Professor Magadla suggested she be part of a movement to re-energize global women’s movements in Africa and beyond. Professor Magadla also urged the US to exert greater pressure on the SADC to become more active and strengthen democratic governance in the region.  

Oge Onubogu invited questions from members of the panel, including concrete recommendations on how the incoming US government can partner with African citizens and institutions to address the concern of democracy being perceived as elite-driven and disconnected from the people.  

Ibrahim Bangura, Associate Professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, pointed to the weakness of democratic culture across the continent by observing that its principles have not been upheld by leaders, most of whom ignore the rights of their citizens. He attributed the resurgence of military coup d’états to political disenfranchisement and corruption. He suggested that the US support African voices fighting for democracy, engage with regional African institutions, and help strengthen democratic institutions that put power in the people’s hands. He also suggested the US invest in socio-economic development by fostering democratic culture in regional organizations, civil society, and education, while leveraging the African diaspora.  

Finally, Oge Onubogu raised the issue of Africa’s reassessment of its security partnerships, prompting the panel to discuss how the incoming US administration can establish itself as a dependable democratic partner despite growing competition from regional, middle, and emerging powers.  

Joseph Siegle, Director for Research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, highlighted Africa’s diverse security environment, noting key areas such as the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, Somalia, and Northern Mozambique, where violent extremism is often linked to transnational criminal networks. He discussed the recent coups in countries like Somalia, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which have led to alternative security arrangements for regime survival, particularly with Russia, and emphasized the growing challenges of building trust and security capacity in a region increasingly affected by instability and conflict. He cautioned against US competition with Russia for influence, recommending that the US work to build African capacity by strengthening security institutions, military professionalism, civil-military relations, and regional coalitions.  

During the Q&A portion of the event, members of the audience posed questions concerning Africa’s security, democratic governance, and options for the use of soft power in US-Africa engagements. There were also questions about the challenges in rebuilding the continent in the context of the geopolitical changes, which some suggested necessitates the US to assess the role of higher education institutions in fostering political engagement and people-to-people integration, empowering Africa’s young population while centering African agency.  

A live stream of the event can be found here.