Berihun Gebeye

In this research project, I investigate how African constitutionalism can produce and sustain what I call “syncretic authoritarianism,” a type of authoritarianism that draws on a particular configuration of international law, administrative law, customary law, and democratic constitutionalism only as a blueprint and billboard. Externally, syncretic authoritarian systems rely on the notion of juridical sovereignty in international law to secure key external support essential for their rule. Internally, they use the legal, institutional, and bureaucratic apparatus of the administrative and local state to eliminate their rivals and impose their authority over people and territory. This research project explores and examines the constitutional origins of authoritarianism in Africa, demonstrating that authoritarianism requires a legal collaboration of internal and external actors. By decoding the supportive conditions for authoritarianism, this research project also indirectly lays the groundwork for the institution and consolidation of democratic constitutionalism on the continent.