![]() Hybrid regimes, also known as “electoral autocracies,” are governments that endeavor to be seen as democracies but lack the fundamentals to warrant such a label. Zambia, now considered as having the potential to be a bright spot in democratic advancement, illustrates the hope that reform is possible in mixed democratic-autocratic systems. ![]() Sudan, now a closed autocracy, holds little prospect for democratic reform. In Zambia, by contrast, elections in 2021 provided an avenue for reform and democratic consolidation. Even then, hopes for reform were dashed though a subsequent military coup, a troubled transition, and now the outbreak of war. In Sudan, under former President Omar al-Bashir, elections were not a legitimate avenue for the expression of the will of the people, and change only came through revolution. ![]() As recently as 2018, both Sudan and Zambia were hybrid regimes (although Sudan was certainly more authoritarian than Zambia), but the two countries took very different paths. Just a few years ago, Sudan was considered a hybrid regime - a country that holds elections yet has strong autocratic characteristics. ![]() ![]() The outbreak of war in Sudan illustrates the perilous trajectories facing “hybrid” regimes around the world. ![]()
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