Introduction:
Long criticized for their poor governance, African countries, particularly those in Central Africa, have embarked on far-reaching political and institutional reforms (1) . The latter are supported in their actions by a panoply of international organizations whose main goal is to advance the democratization of society, the building of democratic institutions and civil society ( 2 ) . However, opinions differ on the involvement of international organizations for an effective transition to democratic governance in Central Africa. This study therefore proposes to question the actions carried out by international organizations in Central Africa in order to determine whether they effectively promote democratic governance there. This will allow international organizations, States and even civil society actors to redefine their interactions so that they can achieve the expected results.
To achieve this, we will rely on the review of different studies, reports and data from credible sources. Moreover, this reflection will be organized in two parts. The first part presents the international organizations and their efforts to promote democratic governance in Central Africa. The second part offers a critical analysis of these actions with regard to the socio-political context of the sub-region. This study also offers some recommendations to improve the impact of international organizations in promoting democratic governance in Central Africa.
Importance of international organizations in the promotion of democratic governance in Central Africa.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation defines governance as the provision of political, social, economic and environmental goods and services that every citizen has the right to expect from their state, and that a state has the responsibility to provide to its citizens. (3) . Moreover, the work of Kauf , mann et al. (4) ; Acemoglu et al. (5) proved that the quality of governance has a positive and significant impact on economic growth, unlike that of Baliamoune -Lutz and Ndikumana (6) ; Knack and Keefer (7) ; Mo (8) which showed that poor governance, marked by political instability and corruption, is a brake on economic growth.
Indeed, efforts have been made to promote democracy and good governance within States, particularly in Central Africa. This process has been influenced by international organizations through three main mechanisms: (1) pressure, both diplomatic and economic, which can compel authoritarian regimes to adopt a liberal system; (2) supranational institutional safeguards that ensure that certain rights of local elites are respected, thereby reducing the risks they face in the process of democratization; and (3) through the socialization of national elites. (9).
More specifically, the African Peer Review Mechanism (10) , the Electoral Capacity Building Program (11) , the Multi-annual Indicative Program (12) , the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination regard to women (13) are some of the mechanisms put in place by international organizations in the States, including those of Central Africa. As a result, progress has been made through regular elections, a freer press and growing civil society participation (14).
However, the outcome remain mitigated, because despite all these efforts, the countries of Central Africa are still facing many challenges (15) . According to Mo Ibrahim, more than 1/2 of Africa’s population Overall Governance performance is better in 2021 than in 2012 (16) , this overall statistic hides huge disparities between sub-regions. Indeed, the World wide project Governance Indicators (WGI) further reveals that the governance indices of Central African countries remain among the lowest in 2021 (17) . Worse still, we observe an almost systematic decline in their governance indicators between 2011 and 2021 (18) . What is more, there is a growing mistrust and skepticism vis-à-vis these international organizations. Indeed, their involvement under the guise of promoting democratic ideals is not always perceived positively by States.
Critical analysis of these actions with regard to the socio-political context of the sub-region
Several arguments motivate this position taken by the institutional actors of the Central African sub-region. First, some of these arguments point out that international organizations can often lack coherence in their approaches (19) , or be influenced by geopolitical and economic interests. Moreover, some prioritize political stability over genuine democracy, supporting authoritarian regimes that maintain the status quo rather than promote genuine democratic change (20) .
Then, we also note excessive interventionism in the sovereign affairs of States, biases in priorities and agendas, their limited effectiveness and even inequitable partnership agreements. By way of illustration, the UN has not been sufficiently effective in resolving conflicts and protecting civilian populations in the region (21) , precisely in the Congo where the war in North Kivu persists to this day. The Congolese government has also decided to mobilize money on its own to come to the aid of the victims of the conflicts in the country and to resolve the humanitarian crisis (22) . There is also a lack of equity in the approach to the problems of the sub-region. This can be seen in particular through the antagonism of solidarity mechanisms in the war in the CAR and that in Ukraine (23) . With specific regard to the European Union, several criticisms have been addressed to it: the imposition of its political and economic agenda thus affecting the sovereignty of the States of the region; the excessive conditionality of development aid which does not take into account the specificities of each country; EPAs that do not adequately protect the interests of States. The EU is no longer one of the observers in the Gabonese presidential elections of August 26, 2023 (24) .
Finally, affecting sub-regional organizations, CEMAC suffers from weak economic and institutional governance in some member countries. Problems such as corruption, poor management of public finances and administrative inefficiency can hamper economic development and regional integration (25) .
Recommendations
Overall, this article aimed at analyzing the role of international organizations in the promotion of democratic governance in Central Africa. To do this, a rigorous methodology was followed, based on the examination of different studies, reports and data from credible sources. The main conclusions drawn from this study highlight the large number of actions carried out by international organizations in Central Africa. However, there is an almost systematic decline in their governance indicators between 2011 and 2021. What is more, there is evidence of mistrust and increased skepticism vis-à-vis these international organisations. Several elements motivate this stance, in particular excessive interventionism in the sovereign affairs of States, biases in priorities and agendas, their limited effectiveness and even the predominance of geopolitical and economic interests.
To this end, the restoration of a climate of trust between the actors should constitute the priority of these organizations in terms of action plan. Several methods could be used to achieve this. These include the increased representativeness of the institutional actors of the States within the executive body of these entities, the systematic respect of the internal law of the States, the regular communication on the activities carried out and the projects, the annual evaluation of these organizations by each State taken individually. Moreover, these international organizations should ensure that the priority given to the activities of their action plans also corresponds to that of the States in the various sectors (governance, crisis management, etc.). Thus, there should be held downstream of their final validation, a workshop for co-construction and prioritization of the diagnosis of these States. Public and private actors and civil society organizations should take part in order to ensure the consistency of the work carried out.
Prunelle Pouomegne Kamdem
Intern, Governance & Democracy
Antem Anthony
Antem Anthony is a Policy Analyst in peace & security at the Foretia Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as conflict, policy and security assistant at the International Crisis Group, Kenya. Anthony is a certified administrative and operations professional from the United Nations University for Peace and the Pan African Institute for Development, West Africa (PAID-WA)
