Sudan's Democratic Experiment: Present Crisis and Future Prospects

Abstract

The graceful and dignified manner in which the Sudan gained independence in 1956, after a determined but non-convulsive, nonsanguinary struggle, made it a cynosure in the post-world war Third World, the majority of which still continued to groan under the yoke of imperialism. When the country quietly proceeded to develop the relics of the colonial structure of authoritarian administration, into a democratic form of government it offered a precedence which was coveted by many African countries. The peoples' love for freedom was further demonstrated by rising in two civilian revolutions to overthrow military dictatorships in 1964 and, two decades later, in 1985. That glorious image has now, alas, undergone a pitiable transmutation. In the sight of a world that has made what appears to be an irreversible journey toward constitutional liberalism, the Sudan is a country in which fundamental human rights are shamelessly violated by a fundamentalist, military regime which has not simply usurped political power by a coup d'etat but which is ideologically disdainful of democracy as a form of government. The tragic story of the ups and downs of the democratic experiment in the Sudan's half century of independence is at once too long and too complicated to be told in detail here. Therefore, this article will highlight only the aspects that may help toward an objective evaluation of the main underlying causes of the failure of the experiment and perhaps shed some light on realistically feasible future prospects. Pedantic as it may sound, and redundant as it may seem at first sight, it may be useful to begin with an attempt to define the term. We are