Across Africa, elections are held regularly, constitutions guarantee fundamental rights, and governments proudly describe themselves as democratic. European powers that championed democracy at home ruled Africa through systems that were anything but democratic. One major challenge is that, in post-colonial Africa, institutions tend to preserve the colonial values upon which they were created. Another challenge is that democracy in Africa has too often been measured by external standards rather than local realities. Democracy struggles in Africa because the continent inherited political systems shaped by colonial domination rather than democratic participation.