Togo: Africa's Facade of Democratic Change

The tiny West African nation of Togo has received more media attention than usual recently after President Gnassingbe Eyadema's death and the subsequent change in the constitution to allow the "legal" installation of his son, Faure Gnassingbe, as president. African leaders working to delegitimize the regime have decried the change as a step backward in democracy for Africa. These political maneuvers all lack substance and enforcement and thus prove the status of democracy in Africa has changed little.