The proliferation of democratic rule in Africa has been accompanied by external involvement in fostering democracy. The African Union along with various regional organizations have included in their treaties clauses calling for their member-states to adhere to democratic governance. Moreover, organizations including the AU and the Economic Community of West African States have used punishments such as membership suspension, sanctions, and military force to motivate states experiencing democratic reversals to change course. Yet, despite these trends, there has been no investigation on how Africans perceive external involvement in fostering democratic rule. This study remedies this gap in existing research by evaluating public attitudes towards such external pressure from the sixth round of the Afrobarometer survey. Specifically, the study explores how individual assessment of electoral practice are and a country’s history of unconstitutional changes of government influence public preference for external involvement in fostering democracy. This study’s findings demonstrate how a country’s political history can in turn affect its citizens preferences for external democracy promotion.