Belmont, CA, Estados Unidos : Thomson Wadsworth, c2004.

ix, 182 p. : il. ; 24 cm.

New horizons in comparative politics

1. Introduction: democracy and democratization- product of the Western tradition or a universal phenomenon? -- 2. Liberalism and social democracy in Western Europe. -- 3. Democracy in the catholic South: Iberia and Latin America. -- 4. The shrimp that whistled: Russia-democracy Waylaid. -- 5. East Asia: democratization from the top. -- 6. Western democratic theories and non-Western democratic experiences: India. -- 7. Democracy and Islam: are they compatile? -- 8. Democracy in Africa: does it have a chance? -- 9. Conclusion: democracy in its one and many forms. --

Tomado del prefacio: "Along with the desintegration of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, and the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, the transition to democracy in many areas of the world has to be one of the most significant transformations of the late twentieth century- maybe even more important than the others mentioned. Beginning in the mid-1970s in Southern Europe (Greece, Portugal, and Spain), then continuing through Latin America, spreading to much of East Asia, then exploding in Russia and Eastern Europe, and now encompassing parts of Africa and the Sweeping away authoritarian-corporatist regimes on the right and Marxist-Leninist regimes on the left, democracy has now become the only form of government that enjoys universal legitimacy. A special focus of this book is the philosophical, political-cultural, and political-theoretical bases for democracy in different parts of the world. The question is: is democracy one and universal, largely corresponding to the Western (United States and European) definition of democracy, or is it particular and local with the several cultural areas of the world having their own definitions and practices of democracy? This book is aimed at a student audience. It is meant to be a textbook primarly for undergraduates but could be used for graduate courses as well. Instructors, scholars, and general readers will also find its themes of major interest. The book can be used in introductory courses in comparative politics, in courses on developing nations, in courses on comparative social change, and in the mushrooming courses on comparative democratization." --

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