"First published in 1987, this book combines a succinct but far-reaching introduction to democracy from classical Greece to the present with a critical discussion of what democracy means today.

The new edition has been extensively revised and updated to take account of the transformation in world politics during the past ten years, and includes four new chapters: on the impact on democracy of the fall of the Soviet empire, the prospects of the democratic nation-state in the light of intensified regionalization and globalization, republicanism, and the future of democracy in a global era."--BOOK JACKET.