Do political leaders determine whether a polity will receive a democratic future or not? Research and advocates of democracy agree on the significance of political elites for democratization, yet there is a need for a more specific understanding of their role.

This book develops a theory of political leadership at the point of nascent statehood to explain the emergence of resilient democracies. It employs four diverse case studies to examine the role of leadership and democratic consolidation. In doing so, the book identifies certain capacities of political leaders at the critical...

Contemporary practices of international peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction do often not work to satisfaction. There is now a growing awareness of the significance of democratic local governments as an integrated part of peacebuilding in order to improve quality and enhance precision of interventions. In spite of this, the local is rarely a key factor in peacebuilding, hence everyday peace is hardly achieved. The aim of this volume is threefold: firstly it illuminates the substantial reasons for working with a more localised approach in politically volatile contexts. Secondly it...