The (In)stability of Presidential Term Limits in Africa and Latin America: Assessing the Impact of Tenure-Rule Reforms on the Political Regime

The (In)stability of Presidential Term Limits in Africa and Latin America: Assessing the Impact of Tenure-Rule Reforms on the Political Regime

Many countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa (re-)introduced term limits during the third wave of democratization as a democratic safeguard against personal rule and power abuses. Since then, term limits have been contested by a plethora of reform attempts. In this project, we take a longitudinal view on these sometimes recurrent reforms and analyse their repercussions for institutionalization, democratization and autocratization.
DFG, 2017-2021

Team

Dr. Charlotte Heyl

Associate

Elena Martínez Barahona

Markus Böckenförde

Julia Leininger

Timothy Power

Head

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Editor Journal of Politics in Latin America

Research Questions

Presidential term limits are a constitutional restriction on the number of terms that the directly elected head of state may serve in presidential or semi-presidential systems of government. Many countries of the world adopted or reinstated term-limit provisions during the third wave of democratisation that swept the world in the 1980s and 1990s, demonstrating the widespread belief that limiting presidential stays in power strengthens democracy. However, term-limit rules were later challenged, and in some cases they were even modified recurrently. In fact, the subsequent contestation of the term-limit rule became a worldwide phenomenon that often led to deep politico-institutional crises.

The project investigates the following research questions:
- What is the impact of presidential term limit reforms on the type and quality of political regimes in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa?
- How did the prevalence of term limit rules develop in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa since the third wave of democratisation?
- How were term limit reforms undertaken? What institutions and actors intervened in the process of term limit reforms? How transparent and democratic was the reform process?
- How does the quality of the reform process influence the political regime?

Contribution to International Research

The project undertakes the first systematic cross-regional analysis of the influence of term-limit reforms on the type and quality of the political regime. The two regions, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, comprise together the majority of presidential and semi-presidential regimes in the world.

A further innovation of the project is the examination of the variety of term-limit reforms, thus the prolongation of presidential terms as well as the shortening of presidential terms. Moreover, the paths of the reform processes are examined in detail to grasp how the character of the process influences the political regime

Edited Volume | Routledge | 2023

Contested, Violated but Persistent: Presidential Term Limits in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa

This book generates new empirical and theoretical insights by bringing together the scholarship on Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, providing context-bound intraregional research as well as long-term perspectives for the study of term-limit change. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Democratization.

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Editor Journal of Politics in Latin America

Dr. Charlotte Heyl

Associate

Democratization | 2022

Contested, Violated but Persistent: Presidential Term Limits in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa: Introduction to Special Issue

The term limits of presidents as a crucial institutional feature to safeguard democracy have often been contested by incumbents. The authors of this article argue that bringing together knowledge on Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa provides new empirical and theoretical insights.

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Editor Journal of Politics in Latin America

Dr. Charlotte Heyl

Associate

Democratization | 2022

Sequences of Presidential-Term-Limit Reforms: Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa

In this article the authors take a longitudinal view on presidential-term-limit reforms in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa since the third wave of democratization. Many countries (re)introduced the measure as a democratic safeguard against abuse of power; since then, it has been repeatedly challenged.

Dr. Charlotte Heyl

Associate

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Editor Journal of Politics in Latin America

Democratization | Taylor and Francis | 2022

Special Issue: Contested, Violated but Persistent: Presidential Term Limits in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa

The term limits of presidents as a crucial institutional feature to safeguard democracy have often been contested by incumbents. The authors of this special issue argue that bringing together knowledge on Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa provides new empirical and theoretical insights.

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Editor Journal of Politics in Latin America

Dr. Charlotte Heyl

Associate

Chapter in Edited Volume | 06/2019

Senegal (1970-2016): presidential term limit reforms never come alone

Dr. Charlotte Heyl

Associate