Democracy in the South: Participation, the State and the People

This is the first truly international collaboration drawing attention to the problems of democratic consolidation across the Southern regions of the world. Nine case studies—three each from Africa, Latin America, and Asia—shed light on the contemporary challenges faced by democratizing nations, mostly from the perspective of emerging theorists working in their home countries.

"In this valuable new book, scholars from the regions concerned explain the theory and practice of democracy away from the familiar Western world. As such, the book will be useful to students and scholars of comparative as much as international politics for presenting voices from the South about the challenges of consolidating democracy in developing countries."—Ramesh Thakur, director, Balsillie School of International Affairs

"The authors provide us with insightful and critical analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of democracies in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. They show that there are neither Northern, nor Southern, nor African, Latin American, nor Asian 'models' of democracy, ready to be replicated elsewhere."—Albrecht Schnabel, senior fellow, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces