The case for political dynasties

BBC NEWS | Africa: "There have been violent street protests in Togo against the army's installation of Faure Gnassingbe as president, in succession to his father who died 10 days ago. The Togolese demonstrators see his appointment as establishing an unwanted political dynasty. But there are many examples of such dynasties elsewhere in the world, not least in the United States. Are they necessarily a bad thing? President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo died on 5 February after 38 years in power.

POLITICAL DYNASTIES
India: Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi
US: The two George Bushes
Congo: Laurent and Joseph Kabila
North Korea: Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il
Syria: Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad
Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto

"And the same is true of the Bandaranaikes in Sri Lanka", where President Chandrika Kumaratunga is the daughter of two former prime ministers, Solomon and Srimavo Bandaranaike. "In established democracies such as the United States, for example, with the Bushes and the Kennedys and the Roosevelts, even in the circumstances although those political actors have the same names, there was a process in place that allowed them to compete for political power and to gain some legitimacy from the population. "