Both a battlefield and a link between power and opposition to it are shown by civil society. However, two opposing and prevailing narratives regarding its potential have acquired traction. One perspective is the idea of a “shrinking civic space,” which is promoted by democracy scorecards. According to this version, civil society is stifled by authoritarianism and official repression. However, this reveals the story of a “liberatory” awakening that is supported by neo-pan-Africanist discourses on social media. According to this narrative, amid a new, fragmented, multipolar emerging international order, state actors, including military transitional governments, willfully collaborate with civil society to regain sovereignty. Although these two storylines have always coexisted, they are now so different from one another that it would be nonsensical to portray them separately. This study argues that the interplay between emancipation and repression masks the dynamic and changing character of civil society, which is marked by underlying ambiguities and conflicts.