Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
In Search of Democracy - Larry Diamond

In Search of Democracy

By: Larry Diamond

Paperback | 16 July 2015 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $98.99

$88.75

10%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $22.19 with

 or 

Ships in 5 to 6 business days

This book takes stock of democratic progress in the world, reflecting upon the causes of democratic difficulty in the world. Diamond addresses some of the critical conditions for democratic success, analyzes democratic dilemmas and prospects in particular regions and countries, and then concludes by assessing the policy implications for promoting and assisting democratic development internationally. The book begins with a new Introduction that introduces the reader to the key concepts of electoral democracy, liberal democracy, consolidated democracy, and good governance, while explaining the relationships among these terms. It examines the quality of democracy, arguing that the prospects for democratic stability and consolidation depend on the improvement of democratic quality, so that democracy is deepened and becomes more liberal. Part I provides the comparative and theoretical foundations of the book. Its opening chapter is a new essay that brings up to the current moment (using the Freedom House data through the end of 2009) the trends in freedom and democracy in the world and the recent travails of democracy. It updates arguments that we are in a period now of democratic recession, globally. Part II of the book then looks at the circumstances of Africa and its search for democracy, analyzing the picture of democratic progress and difficulty in Africa up to the current moment. Part III examines other cases such as China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Iraq. Part IV of the book picks up on the arguments of many previous analytical chapters to advance a policy perspective: What should international actors do to promote and foster democratic development? Finally, the concluding chapter advances a new, post-Bush, strategy for "supporting democracy" around the world. This responds both to the challenge of democratic reversals taking place in the world, and recognizes the need for a more modest and humble approach in an era that follows the imperial over-reach and unilateralism of the George W. Bush era.
Industry Reviews

Presenting decades of accumulated insight, wisdom, and constructive provocation, this volume is not only an irreplaceable account of the global state of democracy but also a remarkable testament to the power and value of one original, rigorous mind taking on an entire field of study across a defining generation of landmark events and trends.

Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The book - In Search of Democracy - brings together some of the seminal writings of Larry Diamond that have made him a pre-eminent figure among scholars of democracy and comparative democratic development. The essays in this twenty-three chapter volume are typically comprehensive and brim with insights, thanks in no small measure to the equal emphasis Diamond places on the factors of structure, culture, state, society, politics, and political economy, backed by sound empirical data and appropriate illustrations. The unique combination of hard-headed analysis, passionately delivered in accessible prose, should make the collection indispensable to all students and policy actors in the field of comparative democratization and accountable governance.

E. Gyimah-Boadi, Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development and the Afrobarometer; and retired professor of political science at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Larry Diamond is the foremost scholar in fostering and guiding the burgeoning field of democratization over the past three decades. This collection includes the bulk of his most illuminating works of agenda-setting significance. This book cannot be ignored by anybody wanting a full grasp of all the most important intellectual debates over problems and opportunities of emerging democracies, especially during the critical phase of democratic consolidation, and the complex strategic issues as well as difficult policy choices surrounding democracy promotion.

Yun-han Chu, Distinguished Research Fellow of the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica

More in Human Rights

Discipline - Randa Abdel-Fattah

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
Ending Isolation : The Case Against Solitary Confinement - Christopher William Blackwell
Perfect Victims : And The Politics Of Appeal - Mohammed El-Kurd

RRP $27.99

$24.99

11%
OFF
A Short History of the Gaza Strip - Anne Irfan

RRP $29.99

$24.99

17%
OFF
For The People : Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy - A. C. Grayling
Women, Race & Class : Penguin Modern Classics - Angela Y. Davis
On Palestine - Noam Chomsky

Paperback

RRP $14.99

$14.75

When I Dare to Be Powerful : Penguin Great Ideas - Audre Lorde
Humanitarian Intervention and Aid - Gary Mclarty