The World and I

BBC News is currently reporting quiteoptimistically on the possibility of a powersharing deal in Zimbawe. Mbeki,South African’s president is currently there to mediate talks between Mugabeand Tsvangerai.

This situation highly resembles whathappened in Kenya half a year ago, and when this happened I  blogged with thequestion of whether this truly represented democracy. Brandon, a fellow bloggerof mine at the time, commented that by reaching such a power sharing deal andthus perhaps preventing civil war, democracy was secondary.

Given that the current situation in Kenyaseems to indicate that it is a viable option. However, I still have my doubtsabout the precedence these set. I agree that finding a workable solution is ofprimary significance, but it cannot be called democracy. If Mugabe manages tostay in power again, I fear it will give other dictators ideas about how tolegitimately stay in power.

On the other hand, perhaps in countrieslike Kenya and Zimbabwe, the institutional system is still not strong enoughfor a fully fledged democracy and powersharing is the in between option? Buthow long will this work?