The year 2020 has been a year in which democracy seriously got a rough ride in West Africa. The region is now the scene of several violations of democratic principles characterized by the return to elective « democratorship » and autocratic systems. Constitutional changes, arrests of opponents, political and community violence, military coups, social and security crises have stifled the democratic process which had been in process for decades. Can we then speak of a democracy completely emptied of its substance in this region? Is the maintaining power of leaders the cause and the consequence of the authoritarianism? This article traces the ambiguous paths of West African democracy between authoritarian drifts and democratic progress. It’s based on empirical elements, observation, documentary analysis and establishes a space-time comparison between Ivory Coast, Guinea and Mali.