Presidential term limits: a new African foreign policy challenge

The document examines the link between presidential term extensions and political instability in Africa, citing recent crises in Burkina Faso and Burundi. It argues that the African Union (AU) must move beyond reacting to coups and instead proactively advocate for the entrenchment of term limits to ensure regional security and democratic consolidation.

• Constitutional revisions intended to extend presidential mandates are identified as drivers of domestic violence, political instability, and regional security risks, undermining democratic transitions across Africa.
• The author cites the 2014 political chaos in Burkina Faso under Blaise Compaoré and the May 2015 attempted coup in Burundi under Pierre Nkurunziza as evidence that attempts to extend presidential terms can lead to the collapse of nominally democratic governments.
• The document warns of potential instability in Rwanda, Benin, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to mooted constitutional amendments aimed at extending the rule of current leaders.
• While the African Union has successfully established a norm against unconstitutional overthrows of government through suspensions, it has historically treated presidential term limits as a domestic sovereignty issue outside its policy purview.
• The author asserts there is significant evidence of a causal link between the protracted stay of African leaders in power and the presence of weak institutions and state fragility.
• The paper recommends that the AU revisit the Charter on Democracy, Governance and Elections to explicitly include presidential term limits as a means of preventive diplomacy.
• South Africa's President Jacob Zuma cautioned against presidential term extensions during a January 2015 AU Peace and Security Council meeting, though the document notes that Kenya openly supported the amendments in Burundi.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2015). Presidential term limits: a new African foreign policy challenge. https://saiia.org.za/research/presidential-term-limits-a-new-african-foreign-policy-challenge/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Presidential term limits: a new African foreign policy challenge. 2015. https://saiia.org.za/research/presidential-term-limits-a-new-african-foreign-policy-challenge/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Presidential term limits: a new African foreign policy challenge |date=24 June 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/presidential-term-limits-a-new-african-foreign-policy-challenge/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2015presidential, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Presidential term limits: a new African foreign policy challenge}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/presidential-term-limits-a-new-african-foreign-policy-challenge/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }