Since the Institute conducted its first program in Sub-Saharan Africa in the mid-1980s, the majority of African nations with closed political systems have adopted principles of democratic governance. In many of the countries still governed by authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes, political space has opened. But Africa remains a continent of stark political and socio-economic contrasts and many longstanding challenges, including debt, ethnic divisions, environmental disasters, poverty, and HIV/AIDS.
