Togo promises development, not democracy

“Democracy isthe best tool we have to address the wide range of challenges we all face, ” President Joe Biden declared at a summit of African leaders in December, “and that belief is shared by Africans and Americans alike.” Some guests may have struggled to keep a straight face. Among those attending were strongmen such as Paul Kagame, who has for almost 30 years, and (pictured), whose family has run Togo for 56 years. Although happy to offer platitudes about democracy in Washington in return for aid, at home both presidents are pushing an alternative model on their people: authoritarian rule in exchange for a promise of development.It is a social contract that is increasingly popular among Africa’s leaders. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which this week released its annual index of governance, found that more than 60% of Africans live in countries where democracy has declined over the past ten years. But in the same period measures of health care and economic development improved across most of the continent.