Democratic Institution Performance: Research and Policy Perspectives

How do nations make successful transitions to democracies? Our understanding of how democracy functions—and under what circumstances it can be consolidated and strengthened—remains highly uneven. Recent events underscore the critical importance of expanding our understanding of democratic institutions and operations. Here McMahon and his distinguished contributors demonstrate how the dynamic process of democratization is shaped by the specific contexts in which it occurs; how the internal community plays a key role in the development of democracy; and how the ability to understand democratization requires both internal and external perspectives. The contributors seek to improve the definitions of what constitutes a democracy and to determine how the effectiveness of democratic institutions might best be judged in order to better serve the analysis of and policy approaches to building democratic institutions. With fewer overtly authoritarian states in the post-Cold War world, a wealth of raw information and experience has begun to accumulate. Our understanding of democratic institutional performance requires us to look closely at the performance of the institutions themselves. The book contains chapters on public opinion, civil society, domestic institutions of governance, elections, globalization, international standards of democratic development, international assistance and academic research. A concluding chapter summarizes what democratization processes can teach us about democracy in a broader context.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Introduction The Paradox of Democracy by Edward R. McMahon and Brian Nussbaum Domestic Aspects of Democracy Political Parties and Civil Society: Learning from the American Case by Kristi Andersen Assessing Civil Society Performance: The Interface of Concept and Practice by John W. Harbeson Wide But Shallow: Popular Support for Democracy in Africa by Michael Bratton Shariacracy and Federal Models in the Era of Globalization: Nigeria in Comparative Perspective by Ali A. Mazrui The French Revolution and Transitional Justice by Howard G. Brown External Aspects of Democratization Transition Elections as End or Means? Lessons for Democracy Assistance from Domestic Election Monitoring by Eric Bjornlund International Standards and Democratization: Certain Trends by Elizabeth Spiro Clark Elections to End Conflict: War Termination, Democratization, and International Policy by Terrence Lyons The Impact of Democratization and Economic Globalization on Worker' Rights: A Comparative Analysis by David L. Cingranelli Globalization and Democratic Performance in Low Income Nations by Nicolas van de Walle Research and Practice in Democratization: Cross-fertilization or Cross Purposes? by Harry Blair The Research-Policy Nexus and United States Democracy Assistance by Shaheen Mozaffar Conclusion The Art of Democratic Crafting and Its Limits by Edward Friedman Bibliography Index

About the Author :
EDWARD R. MCMAHON is Dean's Professor of Applied Politics and Director, Center on Democratic Performance, Department of Political Science, State University of New York, Binghamton. THOMAS SINCLAIR is Director and Assistant Professor of the Master in Public Administration Program, State University of New York, Binghamton.