Parliaments in Africa are currently often not the ones really legislating. Generally, the executive dominates African political systems. Legislating and governing blend and become the domain of the executive. However, parliaments have the potential to become a decisive element in African political systems and society. Changes are underway pointing to a (slow) increase of confidence and power of parliaments. The success of these ongoing developments largely depends on the specific context and more specifically on the respective state of the democratic development and of changes within society.