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Riz Khan
The life and death of democracy
Following the coup in Honduras, Riz asks if democracy is fated for extinction.
Last Modified: 07 Jul 2009 09:25 GMT



Watch part two

This week the tiny Central American nation of Honduras grabbed the world's attention when an internal conflict over a referendum escalated into a coup.

An international debate on democracy, involving all the governments of the Western Hemisphere and the European Union, followed.

And across the Atlantic, in the Western African state of Niger, Mamadou Tandja, the country's president, dissolved the constitutional court, deepening an ongoing political crisis.

Tandja, who was due to leave office when his second term ends later this year, is planning an August 4 referendum on whether he should be able to lead Niger for at least another three years, despite the court's ruling that this was unconstitutional.

Why is reversal of the democratisation process becoming a common phenomenon in so many parts of the world?

On Monday's Riz Khan show we look at the history, meanings, and future of democracy. Is it fated for extinction?

Riz is joined by John Keane, the author of The Life and Death of Democracy, and Ted Dagne, an Africa specialist at the Congressional Research Service.

You can join the conversation. Watch the show live on Monday, July 6, at 2030GMT, with repeats on Tuesday at 0030, 0530 and 1130.

Source:
Al Jazeera
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