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External publication

West Africa’s Authoritarian Turn

As published on the Foreign Affairs website.
E. Gyimah-Boadi 11 Jul 2022

Preview

On September 5, 2021, a 41-year-old colonel in Guinea’s special forces took to the radio to announce that President Alpha Condé had been arrested and the constitution had been dissolved. The colonel, Mamady Doumbouya, said he and his fellow coup makers were fulfilling their duty to “save the country.” As he spoke, a photo of the disheveled 83-year-old Condé—slouched on a couch, surrounded by his captors—went viral on social media, inspiring a meme as young Guineans humorously reenacted the scene.

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E. Gyimah-Boadi

Gyimah is the chairman of the board of directors at Afrobarometer