This research report is based on a baseline study conducted between November 2023 and January 2024 on the political, democratic, human rights, and good governance context in the Horn of Africa (HoA) region, commissioned by the Horn Centre for Democracy (HCD) to inform its future programming. HCD’s main objective is to foster a deep culture of democracy and inclusive citizen empowerment across the HoA. HCD’s undertaking of research on the Horn is further based on the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD’s) definition of the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA; or the Horn) region consisting of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda.
This report originates from a larger mapping study that was commissioned by the Horn Center for Democracy (HCD) that critically examined the capacities and challenges of civil society and pro-democracy civic actors in the Horn of Africa (HoA) for purposes of offering a strategic roadmap for improved sociopolitical engagement and resilience in the region. The HoA encompasses a region marked by historical richness and complex sociopolitical dynamics and thus a unique civil society landscape. This region, comprising Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda as members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), confronts a range of challenges including, for instance, political instability, recurrent civil wars, and pervasive poverty.
