The Making and Unmaking of Democracy: Lessons from History and World Politics

ISBN-13: 9780415933810 / Angielski / Miękka / 2002 / 304 str.

Theodore K. Rabb; Ezra N. Suleiman

Opis

This text brings together a number of authorities on democracy from the fields of political science and history to take on the most widely debated topic in international relations: the promotion of democracy. Spanning political thought from ancient Athens to contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa, the contributors attempt to develop an outline of how democracy develops (or erodes). Over the course of the discussion, a number of important factors emerge: Democratic transitions are always heavily shaped by the ideas and practises of past regimes (like tribal traditions in Africa), international political and economic pressure to liberalize (as in Asia), and current economic conditions (stability helps, inequality hinders). The quality of democracy in a democratic country is almost always improved by the elimination of religion as the centre of the state, by the move from democracy as protection of the individual from the state to democracy as enhancer of rights, and by the progression from a focus on the individual to a focus on the community. Expansive and provocative for any student of democracy, this is a volume to learn from, urge against, or expand upon.

Recenzje

"Everyone who argues about democracy needs to read this compelling book. It illuminates all of the key debates. It sparkles with intensity. It shows how democracy evolved. It assesses weaknesses and strengths. It compares the globe's different versions of democratic practice. It is a defining primer of theory and reality." -- Robert I. Rotberg, Harvard University

Spis treści

Introduction, Theodore K. Rabb and Ezra N. Suleiman Pre-Modern Europe 1. Conditions for Athenian Democracy, Josiah Ober 2. Republic and Democracy: On Early Origins of Democratic Theory, Maurizio Viroli 3. Institutions and Ideas: Planting the Roots of Democracy in Early Modern Europe, Theodore K. Rabb 4. A Response to Ober, Viroli and Rabb, George Kateb Modern Europe 5. Hope, Disappointment and Self-Restraint: Reflections on the Democratic Experiment, Anne Sa'adah 6. Democracy in Spain: Two Paradigms, Edward Malefakis 7. Potemkin Democracy, Stephen Holmes 8. Dilemmas of Democracy in the European Union, Ezra Suleiman Asia, Africa and the Middle East 9. Recasting the Primacy of Politics in Israeli Democracy, Asher Arian 10. Prospects for Democracy in Tropical Africa, Robert L. Tignoe 11. The Nature of South African Democracy: Political Dominance and Economic Inequality, Jeffrey Herbst 12. Democracy in Turkey, Bernard Lewis 13. East Asian Demographic Transitions, Kent E. Calder 14. A Response to Arian Tignor, Herbst, Lewis and Calder Latin America 15. Captialism and Democracy in South America, Jeremy Adelman 16. Democratic Pathways: Crossroads, Detours, Dead Ends in Central America, Deborah J. Yashar United States 17. The Possibilities for Democracy in America, Jennifer L. Hochschild 18. Race, Ethnicity and American Democracy: An (Ungarded) Optimistic View, Sean Wilentz 19. Conclusion

O autorze

Theodore K. Rabb is Professor of History at Princeton University. He is the founder and coeditor of The Journal of Inter-Disciplinary History He the author or editor of more than a dozen books and contributes book reviews to the TLS, The New York Review of Books, Commentary, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. He is the founder and coeditor of The Journal of Inter-Disciplinary History and has served as an advisor for numerous PBS documentaries. Ezra N. Suleiman is IBM Professor in International Studies and Professor of Politics at Princeton University, where he also directs the Committee for European Studies. He serves on the editorial committee of Comparative Politics, and is the author of twelve books.