Achieving Democracy: Democratization in Theory and Practice

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Achieving Democracy opens with a discussion of the historical development of democracy, examining its benefits and various theoretical explanations. It then proceeds to test these theories with empirical evidence, through the examination of country cases studies from the first, second, and third waves of democracy. These case studies were carefully selected for their theoretical importance as well as their geographic, economic, and demographic diversity. Lastly, the work presents an assessment of the potential for democracy in the Middle East based on what is learned from the case studies and concludes with a synthesizing of the findings. Pedagogical tools appear throughout, including hypothesis-testing exercises, discussion questions, tables summarizing primary independent variables associated with democratization, summary of evidence to support or refute a variable's importance, and further readings. Achieving Democracy fills in a gap in the literature by presenting democratic theory in an accessible manner to intermediate undergraduate students, supplying them with the necessary tools to assess theories empirically and to understand democratization fully.

Reviews

"Achieving Democracy provides undergraduate students with all the elements needed to think about the various aspects of democratization around the world. The volume explores processes of democratization in the first, second and third waves as well as current debates on democracy promotion. This book challenges students to test theories of democratization, thus asking them to take a proactive role vis-a-vis one of the most important topics of our times. Strongly recommended."- Ariel C. Armony, Director, Center for Latin American Studies and Weeks Professor in Latin American Studies Professor of International Studies, University of Miami, USA. Achieving Democracy examines democracy historically so that readers understand how its definition and practice have evolved over time. It offers carefully selected case studies of democracy and valuable pedagogical aids, such as hypothesis testing exercises and discussion questions at the end of each section." - Christine A. Gustafson, Department of Politics, Saint Anselm College, USA. "Achieving Democracy gives students a clear and lively introduction to theories of democratization and the conceptual tools they need both to understand and to challenge those theories. At a time when the politics of democratization continue to surprise us, it will provide a valuable resource for students and teachers alike." -Michael Goodhart, University of Pittsburgh, USA.

Author Bio

Dr. Malone is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire where she teaches classes on democratization, comparative politics, and Latin American politics. Her research focuses on a crucial component of democratization: establishing the rule of law.