Includes bibliographical references (p. 214-220) and index.

ch. 1. Democracy and government. Spain and South Korea have significant challenges in their transitions to full democracies / Gregory F. Treverton and Spencer Kim -- Colombia's democratization process is hindered by anti-narcotics efforts / Héctor Mondragón -- Democracy in Thailand is increasingly under strain by internal forces / Tim Meisburger -- Democratization in the Middle East is hindered by conflict / Jim Lobe -- Malaysia's democracy suffers from abuses of power / Andrew Aeria -- Ghana's elections provide lessons for democratization / Stephan Gyasi Jr. -- ch. 2. Democracy and equality. Only international pressure will prompt Burma to democratize / Amitav Acharya -- South Africa must overcome institutional obstacles to democratic equality / Burton Joseph -- Eastern European equality advocates are decreasing in numbers and efficacy / Agnieszka Graff -- Israel struggles to provide equality for minority groups / David Newman -- North Korea ignores human rights / Kay Seok -- ch. 3. Democracy and economics. Sri Lanka faces economic implications while demilitarizing and expanding democracy / Darini Rajasingham Senanayake -- India's political struggles undermine its middle class / P.V. Indiresan -- Zimbabwe cannot fully democratize until there is equal distribution of land and resources / Baffour Ankomah -- Governments must maintain capitalism to preserve democracy / Anatole Kaletsky -- The Persian Gulf states enjoy free market capitalism without democracy / Jean-Francois Seznec -- Malaysia's citizens demand democracy with development / Francis Loh -- ch. 4. Democracy and international relations. The United States should lead by example to promote democracy around the world / Joseph Nye -- Afghanistan needs security before it can have democracy / Gretchen Peters -- Pakistan's democratic transition affects its relationship with the west / Husain Haqqani -- Nepal's democracy needs support from the international community / Manjushree Thapa -- Democracy continues to spread around the globe / Globe & Mail.