Africa’s Democratic Moment?July/August 2019 143
August 2019. It should invite key reformers, such as Abiy, to deliver
an address to Congress and encourage leaders o other branches o
African governments to meet their U.S. counterparts. It should re-
vive the moribund strategic dialogue with South Africa and start its
Ãrst one with Ethiopia. And it should Ãll key ambassadorial posts
that have been left vacant since before Donald Trump took oce,
including those in South Africa and Tanzania.
What makes this moment in Africa unique is the conÁuence o new
leaders coming to power in the most inÁuential countries, each with a
mandate for reform and renewal. Success is never guaranteed, and the
path to lasting progress is littered with obstacles. But in each country,
there is a plausible route to reform that just a few years ago did not
exist. Where it ultimately leads is worth the journey: a future in which
hundreds o millions o Africans live in freedom and prosperity.∂