On Democracy by Robert A Dahl
The last half of the 20th century has been an era of democratic triumph. The main antidemocratic regimes - communist, fascist, Nazi - have disappeared, and new democracies are emerging vigorously or tentatively throughout the world. In this book, a prominent political theorist provides a primer on democracy that clarifies what it is, why it is valuable, how it works, and what challenges it confronts for the future. Robert Dahl begins with an overview of the early history of democracy. He goes on to discuss differences among democracies, criteria for a democratic process, basic institutions necessary for advancing the goals of democracy, and the social and economic conditions that favour the development and maintenance of these institutions. Along the way, he illustrates his points by describing different democratic countries, explaining for example, why India, which seems to lack most of the conditions for a stable democracy, is nevertheless able to sustain one. Dahl answers such questions as why market-capitalism can both favour and harm democracy. He concludes by examining the major problems that democratic countries will face in the 21st century, problems that could arise from complexities in the economic order, from internationalization, from cultural diversity, and from the difficulty of achieving an adequate level of citizen competence.Robert A. Dahl is a former president of the American Political Science Association and Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Yale University. Polyarchy and Democracy and Its Critics, available in paperback from Yale University Press, is one of his many works.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780300076271 |
| ISBN 10 | 0300076274 |
| Title | On Democracy |
| Author | Robert A Dahl |
| Series | Renaissance In Europe Ser: A Cultural Enquiry |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year published | 1998-12-11 |
| Number of pages | 220 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |