Ten years ago, Kenya, which holds national elections on March 4, seemed like one of the brightest stars of a new wave of global democratization. After longtime dictator Daniel arap Moi gave way to contested elections in 2002, Kenyans voted for longtime opposition MP Mwai Kibaki as president. Kibaki, considered a reformist, defeated arap Moi's selected heir, Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenya already had the most boisterous media and vibrant entrepreneurial sector in East Africa, and exploded in joy at Kibaki's election.But Kenya has not become a democratic success story. Kibaki has used his office to enrich and empower tribal allies while trying to destroy the opposition and make the presidency even more powerful. Graft has become worse since 2002. Public anger at the failings of the democratic period has led to spasms of violence. In the 2007 elections, when Kibaki was re-elected in a disputed vote, more than 1,000 Kenyans were killed in vote-related violence.Reversing this decline in Kenya and many other once-promising states will fall primarily on the shoulders of their leaders and citizens. They should consider the following:
Prevent growth from stagnating. Probably the most important job for developing world democrats is to prevent growth rates from stagnating or declining. In Thailand, for instance, Thaksin Shinawatra won his first national election as prime minister in 2001. He won in part because many Thais linked the government that preceded him, which had a far better record on human rights and democratization than Thaksin, with the Asian financial crisis. The crisis led Thailand, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, into economic decline, worsened inequality, and destroyed massive amounts of Thai wealth.
Keep the middle classes on board. Although economic stagnation affects all classes in a developing nation, middle classes worry that democracy will produce leaders elected by the poor who will trample on private property rights and undermine the economic and social power that the middle class had accrued over time. In Thailand, Pakistan, the Philippines, and many other countries, these middle classes have become so disillusioned with democracy that they have supported extra-constitutional efforts to overthrow elected, if flawed, leaders.Create mechanisms to foil elected autocrats. Some possible ways to forestall elected autocracy would be to create high-level courts, enshrined in a national constitution that is nearly impossible to change, that would be tasked with adjudicating major election fraud, graft among senior government leaders, and other government-related crimes.
Declare war on graft. Of all the problems that emerge in democratic transitions, the decentralization of graft often is the most corrosive both to business confidence and to popular support for democracy. In addition, more competitive elections actually can lead to more vote buying, which can then alienate citizens, as one Afrobarometer study showed after the 2007 Kenyan election. One strategy may be to pay higher salaries to senior ministers and civil servants. This reward for senior ministers and civil servants could be combined with an independent anti-corruption watchdog that is constitutionally protected from political meddling, something few emerging democracies have been willing to try.

Joshua Kurlantzick
Author of the new book 'Democracy in Retreat: The Revolt of the Middle Class and the Worldwide Decline of Representative Government' (CFR and Yale University Press), from which this brief is adapted.

I see Africa on the rise. I welcome great progress on development, good governance, and human rights. We have 1,000 days to reach our Millennium Development Goals. Now is the time to finish the job by accelerating progress.The United Nations has been Africa's strongest partner throughout this half century. We are firmly committed to standing with Africa now in the future. I have had very successful meetings today on malaria and yesterday on maternal and child health, during a week which also saw the launch of an initiative to help Africa train and deploy a million community health workers by 2015. We are working for a future where virtually all African mothers survive childbirth and raise their HIV-free babies into healthy adults.I am calling on African leaders to join in ending the silence and denial surrounding sexual violence in conflict. I call on African leaders to join me in raising our voices on behalf of victims. They need our unrelenting advocacy. Women must play a significant role in peace building in conflict societies. The African Union took an historic step when it appointed its first female Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa.
I welcome the decisive action of the French Government in Mali and pledge the UN's readiness to undertake a major, system-wide effort for peace building, governance, security sector reform, physical reconstruction and regional cooperation for the Sahelian country. I also commend efforts to find a durable solution to the crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and reaffirm the UN's commitment to address remaining challenges.

Ban Ki-moon,
United Nations Secretary-General

LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR 2013 COVERAGE
May you all at DEA receive my belated happy New Year greetings. I take this golden opportunity to congratulate you on your praiseworthy work in informative journalism. I can confidently confirm to you that buying a copy of your magazine every month is a must for me lest I acquire the tag of being out of 'trend'.I was especially pleased when you gave an exclusive and timely coverage in your October issue titled the battle of wits between presidents Kagame and Kabila and then backed it up with an exclusive illustration on how President Joseph Kabila is fighting for survival.Please accept my salutation on the way you reported the intense debate about who is supporting and funding the movement du 23 mars (M23) rebels that has been a harped bone of contention for a very long time. Your coverage helped in painting a vivid picture.
The capture of Goma by the m23 rebels did not only shock Kabila's government but the entire world that was closely watching and following the stories unfold. Western nations like Washington DC. Needless to say, I was shocked upon reading that in just six months the rebels had displaced and seen a thousand killed and not forgetting the sex crime that has made Goma city tagged "Rape Capital" of the world.I am looking out for the next issue of DEA hoping it hits the shelves as early as possible. Your credible magazine is a great source of information on geo-politics in my country Tanzania and the African region at large. Thanks again.

Pendo Mwambale
Dar e salaam.

I read and re-read the November issue that featured a critical and pragmatic discourse on Koffi Annan. I found it thoughtful and well balanced. I have personally read the biography and although it presents a unique portrait of this widely admired leader, the article by Mohammed Warsama went above and beyond the surface to reveal a flurry of events pitying Annan's allies and detractors alike. This seasoned diplomat was involved in some of the greatest achievements and failures of the UN in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe but with the successes came certain inane failures. The author of the biography, Stanley Meisler, at one point in the book says, 'It is not the image we are used to, yet in many ways appropriate, because this was a secretary generalship of sunshine and shadow - the Nobel Peace Prize and the oil-for-food scandal; East Timorese independence and always and inevitably, the Iraq conflict.' And so, it was exciting for me to have read your thought-provoking cover story. Readers interested in international affairs like myself appreciated this absorbing account. This is the kind of information that we need and Diplomat East Africa is providing just that. As you celebrate your third year anniversary, I would say keep it up.

Prof. Ucheyi Okoronkwo
ADDIS ABABA

CONGRATULATIONS
I wish to take this earliest opportunity to congratulate you on your third anniversary. I daresay I never expected your magazine to clock a year let alone three. Well, you proved me wrong. Technology has changed the way people consume media thus a future paperless society is not improbable as news consumption is rapidly shifting from print to online, which is especially true in developed countries where Internet penetration, tablets and Smartphone use is high. Well, even as I congratulate your reputable magazine for coming this far, you still have a long way to go that's in case you don't fold along the way. As was the bolt from the blue with Newsweek when it closed its print edition, I predict that there will be many more print publications calling it a day. One glaring fact is that readers' needs and preferences are changing and the necessary adjustment on your part is critical. I have read your on-line version which I believe with a bit of improvement could increase your readership and that you stay relevant and are here many years to come.

Mchazime Kayombo
KAMPALA

Reference is made to your April issue headlined Oil and Politics. Like other media that do not bother to think through their articles, you seem to imply that it is natural for countries that discover oil to run into all sorts of political, economic and social problems.That is to say you seem to have swallowed hook, line and sinker the view that oil is a curse and not a blessing for Africans. I beg to differ profoundly. Libya’s oil was put to good use by Muammar Gaddafi. He developed infrastructure and assisted many an African country with loans for development.President Hugo Chavez is powerful and can stand up to the mighty United States of America because Venezuela has oil. The people of Venezuela are experiencing unparalleled economic growth. The same goes for Latin American countries that have oil. It is not all plunder that you gleefully write about.