H. Kwasi Prempeh, professor of law at Seton Hall University, is former director of legal policy and governance at CDD-Ghana and was a 2011 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow.
Contrary to the widespread perception that Mauritania has moved toward democracy, this troubled country faces continued ethnic tensions and the prospect of increasing repression.
Authoritarians often abuse electoral systems and institutional power to thwart majority will. But the basic principles of democracy—political participation, fundamental rights, and the rule of law—can take shape in more…
