Exorcising Devils from the Throne: Sao Tome and Principe in the Chaos of Democratization

Exorcising Devils from the Throne introduces a small African archipelago that is virtually unknown on the international stage, highlights its post-colonial problems, censures those who have caused or contributed to them, and proposes solutions.

Celebrating independence from Portugal in 1975, two tiny islands sitting in a strategic location just off the coast of Western Africa have encountered rough seas. Charting the fortunes of the new nation and the ambitious lot that have found their way to the helm, the authors spare no one in their critique. Francisco meticulously examines how power struggles, corruption, and external influences destabilized the government, threatening the country’s fragile democratic foundations. Readers are taken on a historical journey that highlights pivotal events, from contested elections to military coups, illustrating the complex interplay of internal and external forces.

Very real practical problems face the island, starting with financial mismanagement, despotism and illegal activities; the failure to properly exploit the island’s natural resources; issues of insularity in every sense; economic instability; and political illiteracy; which make this natural paradise a complete human misfortune. Sao Tome and Principe’s precarious economic conditions have exacerbated its political instability. With a heavy reliance on international aid and oil exploration prospects, the nation’s leadership face intense global pressure. The book outlines how foreign interventions and resource-driven geopolitics shaped the country’s policy decisions, often at the expense of its citizens.

And although their talk of the ‘evil souls’ of the country’s rulers may seem to hint at religious zeal or even extremism, the authors have a point to make about the nature of those who often run governments for the benefit of an elite few rather than the good of all. There are lessons here for emerging democracies worldwide. The sometimes flamboyant prose style is a refreshing break from the strict formality we might expect from a political treatise, as the authors employ metaphors to illustrate a factual and painful situation, rendering the picture they paint more vivid ‒ though it might be said that the facts are colorful enough: in the sections on STP s annual budget, petrol negotiations, etc., statistics and bibliographical references make their points plain.