Democracy for the Long Haul

Elections, usually taken to be a hallmark of democracy, can also become a tool of authoritarian powerholders seeking to legitimate their rule.

Although Fox’s National Action Party (PAN) is frequently portrayed as a reactionary party, it is better understood as a liberal-democratic alternative to the former ruling party’s authoritarianism.

After a failed democratic experiment in 1993-96 and two military coups, Niger successfully held free and fair elections in 1999. The next couple of years will be crucial to the…