Lazywally wrote: we need to patch the holes in the system that were exploited by corrupt politicians who brought democracy to its knees. What changes are necessary to the multi party democratic system of government for it to not fail like it did before? Ever thought about that? I don't have the answer but let me try: Since you seem to have a good grasp on political science, and someone interesting to talk to, here's my answer to your question: According to Weingast (1997), whom I find more well informed and educated than some of the self-proclaimed democracy experts here at Sajha : To have a functional democracy, you have to have a coordination between a soverign/govt and the people. Only when there's a coordination, you can have a functioning democracy. Without the coordination, there's no functioning democracy. How do you achieve that coordination then? Well, many scholars point out that the coordination is only possible with institutions. And how do we create institutions? Its through education and equal economic oppurtunity to all. Only when this coordination is achived, then you can define the appropriate role of the state. And when the appropriate role of the state is outlined/defined, then there's a national consensus and people will know their rights and roles, and can be effective against any action that violates the established appropriate role of the state. This explains why democracy works in the US and western Europe really well, and not so really well in the rest of the world. We can understand Nepal's failure with democracy with this framework. In Nepal we are yet to define the clear role of the state and the people. There's no coordination and there's no consensus. When the governmnet fails to live up to the expectation, actually a large number of people would actually support unconstitutional or extraconstitutional remedies. This explains why people were happy when Deuba was kicked out of office 2 years ago. If we had a coordination between the state and the people, a consensus on the part of the majority, and institutions, this would have never happened, and if had happened, then people would have protested against it, instead of celebrating it. So I stand by my previous reply to you: Institution building, equal economic oppurtunity to the people and education, will in the long run create a tolerant and better informed community because this will create a "consensus" and coordination. And that's the key to having a functional democracy.