Nepal: The End of Shangri-La

Democracy proponents face unpalatable choices, and there is no clear path towards resolving the conundrum. The royal coup, however, was not the best option. The Maoists have survived and strengthened because of the disarray among the democratic parties. What the King could have done was to lead the political parties into a united front to pursue peace with the Maoists. Now, he has completely sidelined the parties, going it alone, possibly allowing the Maoists to play one against the other and gain the upper hand.Nepal Study Center, University of New Mexico, US