Unconstitutional Changes of Governments in Africa Through Coup d'États: "Did We Go or Did We Come"?

Description of Event

From the beginning of this century, and across the African continent, there are rapid democratic reversals, made manifest in a variety of ways. From the constriction of democratic spaces, through the narrowing of vectors for popular participation in governance, to outright coup d’états, the continent is moving backwards on the good governance track. My presentation examines this phenomenon and puts forward a number of IMMEDIATE and REMOTE reasons for this development. The presentation ends with some very practical and down-to-earth proposals for reversing the trend. 

This paper is co-authored by Dr. Sena Dei-Tutu, Lecturer and Coordinator of International Programmes, University of Ghana School of Law.

Please contact burchill@allard.ubc.ca if you would like the Zoom link. 

This Faculty Colloquium is generously funded by the Walter S. Owen Chair in Law.

Speaker

Professor Raymond A. Atuguba is Dean and Professor of General Jurisprudence of the University of Ghana School of Law, where he has taught since 2002. He has been a Visiting Professor of Law and the Henry J. Steiner Visiting Professor of Human Rights at Harvard Law School (2018–2019), currently a Bok Visiting International Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (2023) and has taught over 40 related courses at several universities in Africa, Europe, the United States of America, Canada, and Australia. His research interests are in Constitutional and Administrative Law in Africa; Law and Development in the Global South; and Transnational Perspectives on Human Rights, Law and Organising and Community Lawyering. 

A graduate of the University of Ghana and of Harvard Law School, where he obtained a master of laws degree and did doctoral studies, Professor Atuguba has also worked in the public sector (he was one time the Executive Secretary to the Constitution Review Commission of Ghana and Executive Secretary to the President of Ghana); the private sector (he is founder and former Team Leader of Law and Development Associates (LADA) and is Managing Partner of Atuguba and Associates); and the non-profit sector (he is co-founder, former Executive Director and former Board Chair of the Legal Resources Centre and Board Chair of LADA Institute). 

Professor Atuguba has over 100 publications, been engaged in over 100 research and advocacy projects, produced over 100 research and technical reports, delivered over 500 papers and presentations on all continents of the world, and been involved in the audit, review, and drafting of over 500 constitutions, policies, main legislation, strategies, regulations, guidelines, manuals, and procedures, mainly in African countries and around the world.

He has consulted for many African governments (The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe, etc.) and major international development agencies and NGOs (The UN, UNDP, UN-OHCR, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNODC, UNMIL, The World Bank, ILO, IOM, EU, AU, ECOWAS, USAID, DFID (UK-AID), GIZ (GTZ), DANIDA, FAO, FES, KAF, ICHRP, OXFAM, IBIS, IIED, ActionAid International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, CARE International, Plan International, Ford Foundation, OSI, OSIWA, etc.) and led or co-led over 50 training programmes and workshops. He has also chaired or sat on over 100 boards and committees, national and international.