Editing Benin (section)

==Politics==
{{main|Politics of Benin}}<!--Please add new information to relevant articles of the series-->
Benin's politics take place in a framework of a [[presidential system|presidential]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] republic in which the [[President of Benin]] is both [[head of state]] and [[head of government]], within a [[multi-party system]]. [[Executive power]] is exercised by the government. [[Legislative power]] is vested in the government and the legislature. The [[judiciary]] is officially independent of the executive and the legislature, while in practice its independence has been gradually hollowed out by Talon, and the Constitutional Court is headed by his former personal lawyer.<ref name="economist2021">{{cite news |title=Benin's democratic beacon dims |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/04/10/benins-democratic-beacon-dims |access-date=12 April 2021 |magazine=[[The Economist]] |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412022220/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/04/10/benins-democratic-beacon-dims |url-status=live}}</ref> The political system is derived from the 1990 [[Constitution of Benin]] and the subsequent transition to democracy in 1991.

It was ranked 18th out of 52 African countries and scored best in the categories of Safety & Rule of Law and Participation & Human Rights.<ref name=IIAG>{{cite web |title=2014 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) |publisher=[[Mo Ibrahim Foundation]] |date=2014 |url=http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/interact/ |access-date=16 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530015728/http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/interact/ |archive-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, [[Reporters Without Borders]] ranked Benin 53rd out of 169 countries. That place had fallen to 78th by 2016, when [[Patrice Talon|Talon]] took office, and has fallen further to 113th.<ref name="economist2021" /> Benin has been rated equal-88th out of 159 countries in a 2005 analysis of police, business, and political corruption.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/gov_cor-government-corruption |title=Countries Compared by Government, Government corruption rating. International Statistics at NationMaster.com |work=nationmaster.com |access-date=13 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208015202/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/gov_cor-government-corruption |archive-date=8 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Its democratic system "has eroded" since President Talon took office.<ref name="economist2021" /> In 2018, his government introduced new rules for fielding candidates and raised the cost of registering. The electoral commission, packed with Talon's allies, barred all opposition parties from the parliamentary election in 2019, resulting in a parliament made up entirely of supporters of Talon. That parliament subsequently changed election laws such that presidential candidates need to have the approval of at least 10% of Benin's MPs and mayors. As parliament and most mayors' offices are controlled by Talon, he has control over who can run for president. These changes have drawn condemnation from international observers and led to the United States government partially terminating development assistance to the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benin: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/benin/freedom-world/2021 |access-date=16 December 2021 |website=Freedom House |language=en |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216181132/https://freedomhouse.org/country/benin/freedom-world/2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Press Release: MCC's Board Selects Belize, Zambia for Grant Assistance |url=https://www.mcc.gov/news-and-events/release/press-release-121521-board-selects-belize-zambia |url-status=live |access-date=16 December 2021 |website=Millennium Challenge Corporation |language=en |quote=However, due to Benin's overall multi-year decline in its commitment to MCC's eligibility criteria and the principles of democratic governance, the Board discussed and endorsed MCC's determination to significantly reduce the portion of the planned regional investment that would be made in Benin through a concurrent compact. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215202326/https://www.mcc.gov/news-and-events/release/press-release-121521-board-selects-belize-zambia |archive-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 December 2021 |title=Recul de la démocratie: les Etats-Unis sanctionnent le Bénin à travers le MCC |url=https://lanouvelletribune.info/2021/12/recul-de-la-democratie-les-etats-unis-sanctionnent-le-benin-a-travers-le-mcc/ |access-date=16 December 2021 |website=La Nouvelle Tribune |language=fr |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216181132/https://lanouvelletribune.info/2021/12/recul-de-la-democratie-les-etats-unis-sanctionnent-le-benin-a-travers-le-mcc/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hirschel-Burns |first=Tim |title=Benin's King of Cotton Makes Its Democracy a Sham |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/08/benin-election-democracy-sham-patrice-talon/ |access-date=16 December 2021 |website=Foreign Policy |date=8 April 2021 |language=en-US |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216181132/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/08/benin-election-democracy-sham-patrice-talon/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Military===
{{main| Benin Armed Forces}}