The Middle East and North Africa comprise by all measures one of the least democratic regions in the world. At the same time, decades of research show robust support for democracy among MENA residents. A paradox ... or is it? Hannah Ridge explores the "democracy paradox" by parsing the meanings that citizens assign to the Arab word dimuqratiyya. Drawing on Arab Barometer data from    More >

This outstanding study focuses on the growth of  microfinance in the context of social and economic change—and upheavals—in developing countries. Rather than relying on one-dimensional technical analyses, Eugene Versluysen presents the experiences and achievements of microfinance institutions and their clients in the form of country-based case studies. He emphasizes how important    More >

Guyana-born poet-novelist Dathorne’s powerful work, set against the background of a revolution, both political and spiritual, is a compelling account of the search for ancestry and legacy. The reader learns about the past, present, and future of the chief protagonists—Dele, the saintly whore; Pietro, the impotent medical practitioner; Ianty, the corrupt politician; and Stephan, who    More >

Why has youth crime been rising in the developing countries, and how well have their juvenile justice systems responded to this trend? This anthology profiles delinquency rates and juvenile justice systems in chapters on China, India, Japan, Macao, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey. Each nation's distinctive response to youth crime is described    More >

With the increasing use of elections as a tool for peacebuilding after civil war, the question of why some postconflict elections succeed and others fail is a crucial one. Tackling this question, Terrence Lyons finds the answer in the internal political dynamics that occur between the cease-fire and the voting. Lyons shows that the promise of elections can provide the incentive for the    More >

What explains the enduring rule of authoritarian regimes in the Arab world? Nicola Pratt offers an innovative approach to this recurring question, shedding light on the failure of democratization by examining both the broad dynamics of authoritarianism in the region and the particular role of civil society. Pratt appraises the part that civil society actors played in the normalization of    More >

Why is there so much discontent with democracy across Latin America? Are regimes being judged by unrealistic standards of success—or is there legitimate cause for criticism in light of  widespread failures to deliver either transparency or effective public policies? Addressing these questions across a variety of dimensions, the authors explore the diverse ways in which the specific    More >

Moving beyond Cold War rhetoric and stereotypical views of Third World Marxism, the authors convincingly argue that the democratic tradition and practice that was emerging in socialist Nicaragua could well serve as a model for other Third World states. They analyze concepts of democracy and the ideology of the FSLN and show that the Sandinista movement is not in any way stock Marxist-Leninism.    More >

Errol Henderson critically examines what has been called the closest thing to an empirical law in world politics, the concept of the democratic peace.   Henderson tests two versions of the democratic peace proposition (DPP)—that democracies rarely if ever fight one another, and that democracies are more peaceful in general than nondemocracies—using exactly the same data and    More >

Democracy is in crisis. After the hope engendered by the Third Wave, democracies around the world are beleaguered with threats from multiple sources. What are these threats? Where did they come from? And how can the challenges to democratic governance best be overcome? Grappling with these questions, Roland Rich interprets the danger signs that abound in the United States and Europe, in Asia    More >