Parliamentary Democracy

This title was first published in 2001. With the collapse of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, the legitimacy of one-party, and often one-person rule in other parts of the world has been fundamentally challenged. It appears that for the first time parliamentary democracy has become the universally accepted model to adopt or to be perfected. Newer democracies have started to build the institutions and capacity necessary to sustain democracy, while established democracies continue to refine their democracy, sometimes introducing full-scale reforms. This book examines whether elements of the perfect democracy can be identified and how democratic structures and practices can be improved.

Nicholas Hopkinson

1: Democracy and Good Government; 2: To What Extent Should Cultural Values and the National Context Determine Democratic Practice?; 3: Adapting Democracy to National Circumstances; 4: Free and Fair Elections; 5: Representation, Political Parties and Direct Democracy; 6: Ensuring Parliamentarians are Representative; 7: Improving the Effectiveness of Parliament; 8: Is There a Correlation between Democracy and Development?; 9: Case Studies; 10: Conclusions