Developing Democracies: Democracy, Democratization, and Development edited by Michael Böss, Jørgen Møller & Svend-Erik Skaaning, is their academic anthology about Exactly What It Says In The Title, and also #4 in the bilingual MatchPoints series of academic titles in the Social Sciences and Cultural Studies realms, free courtesy of publisher Aarhus University Press in Denmark.
This is their current English-language Free Book of the Month selection for June, and contains assorted essays on the subject of the development and sustainability of democracy, covering topics from the historical formations in post-Revolutionary France to the modern-day situations in the Middle East, as well as challenges facing modern Western democracies.
Currently free, just through the month of June directly @
the university's dedicated promo page (DRM-free PDF available worldwide). More info about the book can be seen on its own
regular webcatalogue page.
And this has been the selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.
Because not only are nifty academic freebies always welcome, I'd have thought that the Aarhus University people would have already started on their usual summer break by now, so it's really quite nice of them to rotate their generous monthly giveaways for June before going on what will presumably be the seasonal hiatus again.
Enjoy!
Description
The Middle East captured front pages worldwide for the alleged Arab Spring in 2011. Large segments of the populations of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Syria took to the streets to voice their protest against autocratic regimes and to demand democracy. Violent uprisings followed, but the prospects of liberal democracy are still uncertain and distant. No wonder. Democratization took a couple of centuries in the West. And even today, well-established Western democracies are under pressure from globalization and regionalization, and many claim representative democracy is in need of renewal.
This collection of essays focuses on a number of theoretical issues associated with democracy and democratization. Divided into three parts, the first part analyzes how democracy may be understood, explained and measured. The second part deals with issues of democracy, international stability, and development in fragile and developmental states and regions. The third part of the book looks at representative democracy in old democracies and its potential for development.