First published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Not to repeat past mistakes: the sudden resurgence of a sympathetic interest in social democracy is a response to the urgent need to draw lessons from the history of the socialist movement. After several decades of analyses worthy of an ostrich, some rudimentary facts are being finally admitted. Social democracy has been the prevalent manner of organization of workers under democratic capitalism. Reformist parties have enjoyed the support of workers.

In this book the authors assess the experiences of transition in Southern Europe, Latin America and Eastern Europe in order to determine what the conditions for successful transitions are. They argue against the "big bang" approach, espoused by many advisors to reforming countries, on the grounds that this approach bypasses the newly formed institutions of democracy that ultimately may undermine the necessary consensus to support painful economic reforms. The most successful reforms, they argue, have been those agreed upon through a process of democratic negotiation. A new democracy must...

Sustainable Democracy is a joint report of twenty-one social scientists, from eleven countries and four academic disciplines, who collaborated over the period of two years under the name of the Group on East-South Systems Transformations (ESST). Their report identifies the principal political and economic choices confronting new democracies in Southern and Eastern Europe and South America, while evaluating their merits and feasibility in the light of current social science knowledge. The scientists explore the social, political and economic conditions under which democracy is likely to...

An international group of specialists from the fields of law, politics, economics, and philosophy address the question of why governments act or do not act according to laws. The authors interpret the rule of law as a strategic choice of actors with powerful interests, rather than as an exogenous constraint on politicians. The rule of law emerges when no group is strong enough to dominate the others, and political actors seek to resolve their conflicts by recourse to law. Law is thus deeply rooted in politics.

The purpose of this text is to introduce concepts for studying relationships between states and markets. The economy and the state are thus analyzed as networks of relationships between principals and agents, each occupying a particular position in the institutional structure. The book then analyzes systematically the effect of the organization of the state on the functioning of the economy. It isolates the conditions that trigger government's positive or negative responses to the economy.

It is sometimes assumed that voting is the central mechanism for political decision making. The contributors to this volume focus on an alternative mechanism, which is decision by discussion or deliberation. This volume is characterized by a realistic approach to the issue of deliberative democracy. Rather than assuming that deliberative democracy is always ideal, the authors critically probe its limits and weaknesses as well as its strengths.

This book examines whether mechanisms of accountability characteristic of democratic systems are sufficient to induce the representatives to act in the best interest of the represented. The first part of the volume focuses on the role of elections, distinguishing different ways in which they may cause representation. The second part is devoted to the role of checks and balances, between the government and the parliament as well as between the government and the bureaucracy. Overall, the essays combine theoretical discussions, game-theoretic models, case studies, and statistical analyses,...

An international group of specialists from the fields of law, politics, economics, and philosophy address the question of why governments act or do not act according to laws. The authors interpret the rule of law as a strategic choice of actors with powerful interests, rather than as an exogenous constraint on politicians. The rule of law emerges when no group is strong enough to dominate the others, and political actors seek to resolve their conflicts by recourse to law. Law is thus deeply rooted in politics.

The purpose of this text is to introduce concepts for studying relationships between states and markets. The economy and the state are thus analyzed as networks of relationships between principals and agents, each occupying a particular position in the institutional structure. The book then analyzes systematically the effect of the organization of the state on the functioning of the economy. It isolates the conditions that trigger government's positive or negative responses to the economy.