Where is Togo? Many will ask that question on a first read, but this nation in West Africa has been engulfed by protests, particularly in the capital, Lome and these are a visible legacy of the Arab Spring. For this reason it is important to understand where Togo is and how political protest has began to become a global, rather than localised phenomenon.
The protests started in Tunisia and rapidly spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East. However the wave of reform has now spread beyond the Arab world. Tibet has seen increasing political protest and western nations have seen wave’s of anti-inequality protests as part of the Occupy Movement. In Africa the spread of the Arab Spring had been most dramatic. In Mali the Tuaregs rose up against the government and declared the region of Azawad an independent state and, thanks to an influx of weaponry from the Libyan Civil War, these rebels have led a relatively successful campaign against the government, that is still unresolved. In Mauritania protests were organised in many major cities and Togo has become the latest country in West Africa to see great anti-government protest.
Following electoral reforms in the country there have been three days of protests in the capital, Lome, with the citizens claiming that the reforms only benefit the ruling party and allows them to continue to rule with no limit on their terms in office. This has allowed the same family to rule the country for four decades and the Togolese are seeking to reverse these reforms.
Operation Save Togo, a coalition of campaign groups, has organised the protests in the hope that it can force President Gnassingbe to launch a dialogue with the protestors to discuss the issues over electoral reform. This protest represents a very different scenario to that in many other countries, where the protest was driven by the populus, rather than organisations, which have made Togo’s protests initially more organised and centralised. More recently Togo’s opposition leader, Isabelle Ameganvi, has called for a sex ban in order to achieve the political aims of the protestors.
However the route of protest and reform is very complicated. Already these protestors have clashed with riot police, who attacked the protestors in the main market square with tear gas. This initial conflict could lead to an escalation of violence if the President stonewall’s the protestors, however the international attention of the clashes and the sustained nature of protest could push the President to seek negotiations.
What we can take away from the clashes in Togo, is that the years of political protest and reform are from over, and countries that have experienced years of dominance and political control by a single leader or family, may see the spread of this new ideology. This ideology is one of a political process that represents the interests of the people, rather than the elite that has dominated politics throughout much of the region.
A Little View of the World 
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