This volume offers a comprehensive overview of current debatesabout democracy across the globe. Since the political turmoil inEastern Europe began in the 1980's, the debate about the meaningand future of democracy has intensified. Prospects forDemocracy assesses this debate through wide-ranging theoreticalconsiderations and a diverse set of case studies. The volume begins with a major overview of the concept ofdemocracy, from ancient city states to contemporary discussionabout the possibility of international democracy. In the nextsection a series of contemporary models of democracy are examinedand their strengths and limits explored. The third sectionconfronts a wide variety of questions about the proper form andscope of democratic politics. In the final part, the context andprospects of democracy are investigated across many of the worldsmajor regions including Western and Eastern Europe, North America,Latin America, Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. This volume will be widely welcomes by all those, academics andnon-academics alike, who have an interest in the meaning and futureof democracy as we approach the 21st Century.