This volume offers a comprehensive overview of current debates about democracy across the globe. Since the political turmoil in Eastern Europe began in the 1980a s, the debate about the meaning and future of democracy has intensified.

Part I. Introduction. 1. Democracy: From City-states to a Cosmopolitan Order: David Held. Part II. Contesting Democracy: Theoretical Disputes. 2. Liberal Democracy and Limits of Democratisation: David Beetman. 3. Deliberative Democracy and Social Choice: David Miller. 4. Must Feminists Give Up on Liberal Democracy? Anne Phillips. 5. Associational Democracy: Paul Hirst. 6. Direct Democracy: Setting Appropriate Terms of Debate: Ian Budge. 7. The Cultural Particularity of Liberal Democracy: Bhikhu Parekh. Part III. Substantive Issues: The Scope and Limits of Democratic Politics. 8. Democracy, Markets and Capital: Are there Necessary Economic Limits to Democracy? Christopher Pierson. 9. Socialism and Democracy: Alex Callinicos. 10. Military Policies and the State System as Impediments to Democracy: Robert C. Johansen. 11. Democracy and the Media - Without Foundations: John Keane. 12. Democratic Citizenship in a Post-communist Era: Danilo Zolo. Part IV. The Dynamics of Democratisation: Risks and Possibilities. 13. Consolidations of Democracy: John A. Hall. 14. Democracy and its Future in Eastern Europe: Paul G. Lewis. 15. The Alternative to 'Liberal Democracy': A Latin American Perspective: Laurence Whitehead. 16. Sub-Saharan Africa: Geoffrey Hawthorn. 17. Democratisation in Asia: David Potter. 18. The Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East: Simon Bromley. Index.

This volume offers a comprehensive overview of current debates about democracy across the globe. Since the political turmoil in Eastern Europe began in the 1980's, the debate about the meaning and future of democracy has intensified. Prospects for Democracy assesses this debate through wide-ranging theoretical considerations and a diverse set of case studies. The volume begins with a major overview of the concept of democracy, from ancient city states to contemporary discussion about the possibility of international democracy. In the next section a series of contemporary models of democracy are examined and their strengths and limits explored. The third section confronts a wide variety of questions about the proper form and scope of democratic politics. In the final part, the context and prospects of democracy are investigated across many of the worlds major regions including Western and Eastern Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. This volume will be widely welcomes by all those, academics and non-academics alike, who have an interest in the meaning and future of democracy as we approach the 21st Century.

Part I. Introduction. Part II. Contesting Democracy: Theoretical Disputes. Part III. Substantive Issues: The Scope and Limits of Democratic Politics. Part IV. The Dynamics of Democratisation: Risks and Possibilities. Index.