A number of heads of state have successfully pushed through measures allowing them to extend their terms of office, while opposition parties lack clout. A new incumbent in the top job does not necessarily lead to better governance. China's drive to increase its presence on the African continent will do little to further the decline of authoritarianism.

Victor Magnani is Project Officer at the Sub-Saharan Africa Program.  

Thierry Vircoulon is a Research Associate at the Sub-Saharan Africa Program and teaches at Sciences-Po Paris.

Article published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 84, No. 2, Summer 2019