This textbook introduces students to the theoretical and practical dimensions of democratization in an accessible and systematic way. Democratization is the first textbook to focus on the 'global wave of democratization' which has been happening since about 1970. The book brings together leading authors from diverse international backgrounds, including some of the best known names in the field.

Key themes covered in the book include:

Theories of democratization and their relation to democratic theory
Critical prerequisites and driving social forces of democratic transition
Pivotal actors and institutions involved in democratization
Conditions for democratic survival and the consolidation of newly democratized countries, and the analysis of failed democratization
Demonstrations of how these factors have played a role in the different regions in which the global wave of democratization transplaced authoritarian and communist systems
Possible futures of democratization worldwide.

Online Resource Centre:

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Interactive exercises Web links
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Flashcard glossary
Links to OUP journal articles
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For lecturers:

PowerPoint slides
Additional questions for each chapter