Webinar | Africa-Europe perspectives: democratic challenges on both continents

European and African governments are facing multifaceted crises that are destabilising democracy. In Europe, the rise of populism and the far right in several countries, as well as the information war being waged by other countries, pose significant challenges to our democracies. On the African side, democracies, particularly the most recent ones, are experiencing severe political and security instability, as well as growing and rival foreign influences. In Europe as in Africa (but this could be extended to the rest of the world), these threats to democracy seem to stem from a common ground: the contestation of the policies pursued and the political leaders who pursue them. Why? What are the consequences, particularly for fundamental freedoms (freedom of the press, women’s and minority rights, the fight against corruption, the defence of the rule of law)? Is democracy really under threat or undergoing change? Are we witnessing the emancipation of a civil society that remains to be defined? This webinar, co-organised by the Jacques Delors Institute and the West African think tank WATHI, will address all these questions by offering a cross-perspective on the democratic challenges of recent and upcoming elections on our two continents. With the participation of: Sylvie Matelly, Director of the Jacques Delors Institute

Dr Ndèye Astou Ndiaye, Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Political Science, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar
Guillaume Arditti, EU-Africa Research Associate, Jacques Delors Institute
Gilles Yabi, Founder and Executive Director of WATHI