Instead of presenting democracy as an ideal political system that humans only imperfectly realize, John Markoff conceptualizes democracy as something continually being reinvented. Instead of reducing democracy to well-defined and routine practices and institutions such as elections and parliaments, Markoff shows how political movements have repeatedly challenged and remade existing institutions. After reviewing two centuries of political conflict, he concludes with a thoughtful and exciting discussion on what democracy means today and what its future might be.
Table of Content
A Quick History of Modern Democracy
States, Social Movement Challengers and Elite Reformers
Eighteenth-Century Revolution, Nineteenth-Century Eddies
Twentieth-Century Pendulum Swings
Semidemocracy, Pseudodemocracy, Democracy
Democracy′s Future
About the author
John Markoff is Professor of Sociology and History at the University of Pittsburgh. He has published extensively in sociological, historical and political science journals. His recent work includes The Great Wave of Democracy in Historical Perspective (Cornell University Western Societies Monograph 32), The Abolition of Feudalism: Peasants, Lords and Legislators in the French Revolution (The Pennsylvania State University Press and (with Gilbert Shapiro) Revolutionary Demands: A Content Analysis of the Cahiers de Dol‚ances (Stanford University Press).
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