This TED Talk features political scientist Zachariah Mampilly, recorded live at TED Global 2017.

Like many of you, I'm often frustrated by the democratic process. It's messy, it's complicated,

it's often inefficient. Our political leaders feel disconnected from the concerns of ordinary people.

Many feel that voting every few years from leaders disconnected from their daily challenges

is pointless.

But before we reject democracy, let's imagine what it could be. And I believe that African activists are redefining democracy

by putting protest at its center,

what I refer to as protest democracy.

International organizations and academic experts

define democracy as regular, multi-party electoral competition.

But democracy should not only be about elites competing at the ballot box.

For it to have meaning,

it's something we must engage in every day.

When I say protest democracy,

I'm challenging how we think about democratic action.

Viewing democracy as only elections is no longer adequate

and threatens democracy itself.

So we must protest democracy to give it a renewed meaning.

What would this look like?

We need to turn to African societies

where ordinary people are increasingly taking to the streets

to transform their lives.

...