A Priori Understandings of Presidential Term Limits: Beyond Dogma, Experimenting With Term Limits in Africa
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
- Virtual event
- Zoom meeting link
- Cost: Free
- Contact
- Institute of African Studies , africanstudies@cunet.carleton.ca
Speaker: Dr. Kagiso “TK” Pooe
Assistant Professor of Future Governance (Scenarios), The African School of Governance (Kigali-Rwanda)
Are presidential term limits an unquestionable pillar of democracy—or a constitutional orthodoxy that deserves critical re-examination?
Join us for a timely and thought-provoking Brownbag Seminar with Dr. Kagiso “TK” Pooe as he interrogates prevailing assumptions about presidential term limits in Africa. Against the backdrop of economic slowdowns, youth unemployment, and ongoing governance crises across the continent, this talk challenges the idea that fixed term limits are the only viable path to democratic stability.
Drawing on comparative insights from ten African states, Dr. Pooe explores how evolving governance challenges have sparked experimentation with alternative political models. From coalition governments in South Africa to regime restructuring in Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Zimbabwe, African states are navigating complex policy failures in diverse and unconventional ways.
The seminar also places Africa’s experience in a global perspective, reflecting on countries such as Singapore and China, where flexible or absent term limits have coincided with sustained state-led development. Rather than treating term limits as dogma, this talk invites critical reflection on whether constitutional design should remain static—or adapt to contemporary public policy realities.
This seminar will be of interest to students, faculty, and practitioners in political science, governance, public policy, African studies, and international development.