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Why do military coups still happen?

Defiant protesters have been on the streets of Sudan this week after the country's armed forces launched a military coup

Defiant protesters have been on the streets of Sudan this week after the country's armed forces launched a military coup. On Monday coup leader Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and declared a state of emergency. It wasn't meant to be like this. After long-time Sudanese ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019, civilian leaders and their military counterparts entered a power-sharing agreement designed to encourage democratic reform. So why has the fragile arrangement broken down and what does history tell us about the broader challenges countries face when trying to move beyond military rule? Is democracy possible without strong institutions? Why do countries like Pakistan continue to flirt with military rule despite having elections? And how have others - like Argentina - managed to break away from military rule altogether?

Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts.
Produced by: Zak Brophy and Paul Schuster.

Available now

49 minutes

Last on

Sat 30 Oct 2021 03:06GMT

Contributors

Jonas Horner - Senior Sudan Analyst for the International Crisis Group (ICG)
Dr Ayesha Siddiqa - Senior Fellow in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London
Joe Wright - Professor of Political Science at Penn State University
Ndubuisi Christian Ani - Security Analyst based in Accra, Ghana
Also featuring ...
Jeffrey Feltman - US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa
Maria Victoria Murillo - Director of the Institute for Latin American Studies at Colombia University in New York

Photo

Sudanese security forces protect a military hospital and government offices during protests against a military coup on October 25, 2021. Credit: AFP via Getty Images.

Broadcasts

  • Fri 29 Oct 2021 09:06GMT
  • Fri 29 Oct 2021 23:06GMT
  • Sat 30 Oct 2021 03:06GMT

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