Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Niger. The steady uptick in coups across Africa in the last year has raised alarm bells in the international community. After nearly two decades of progress and peace, recent gains seem to be eroding. What forces are driving the rise of these grasps for power? These aren’t your grandfather’s coups, after all. With knowledge of social media and growing transnational ties to autocratic regimes with deep pockets, today’s coup leaders have a different set of tools at their disposal. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst featuring Remi Adekoya, a political analyst and Associate Lecturer at York University, we unpack the dangers of states’ failure to deliver development, the psychology of powerful elites as well as how to renew faith in democracy in the world’s youngest, fastest-growing population.