Product Description

The first two editions of Models of Democracy have proven immensely popular among students and specialists worldwide. In a succinct and far–reaching analysis, David Held provides an introduction to central accounts of democracy from classical Greece to the present and a critical discussion of what democracy should mean today.





This new edition has been extensively revised and updated to take account of significant transformations in world politics, and a new chapter has been added on deliberative democracy which focuses not only on how citizen participation can be increased in politics, but also on how that participation can become more informed.





Like its predecessor, the third edition of Models of Democracy combines lucid exposition and clarity of expression with careful scholarship and originality, making it highly attractive to students and experts in the field. The third edition will prove essential reading for all those interested in politics, political theory and political philosophy.


A companion website to Models of Democracy provides lecturer and student resources; including a study guide, an interview with the author and links to develop the reader′s understanding of the topics covered.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127359 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

Review
"The great global struggles today are not over democracy versus other forms of government but over the meanings and practices of democracy themselves. There is no better critical and engaged survey of the complex histories and contemporary struggles over this deeply contested concept than David Held′s third and improved edition of Models of Democracy, precisely because it is written in awareness of its own contestability."
James Tully, University of Victoria

"Models is the kind of established classic which both demands and merits revision every decade or so."
David Beetham, University of Leeds

"Everyone who has used Models will welcome this new edition. Newcomers will find a wide–ranging and reliable analysis of past and present debates about democracy and gain an understanding of what is at issue in current global arguments."
Carole Pateman, Cardiff University and University of California at Los Angeles

From the Back Cover
The first two editions of Models of Democracy have proven immensely popular among students and specialists worldwide. In a succinct and far–reaching analysis, David Held provides an introduction to central accounts of democracy from classical Greece to the present and a critical discussion of what democracy should mean today.

This new edition has been extensively revised and updated to take account of significant transformations in world politics, and a new chapter has been added on deliberative democracy which focuses not only on how citizen participation can be increased in politics, but also on how that participation can become more informed.

Like its predecessor, the third edition of Models of Democracy combines lucid exposition and clarity of expression with careful scholarship and originality, making it highly attractive to students and experts in the field. The third edition will prove essential reading for all those interested in politics, political theory and political philosophy.

A companion website to Models of Democracy provides lecturer and student resources; including a study guide, an interview with the author and links to develop the reader′s understanding of the topics covered.

About the Author
David Held is Graham Wallas Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Customer Reviews

An exelent reference book to understand what is democracy.
I am from Croatia, a republic of former Yugoslavia. I was engaged in a struggle for a democracy against communist regime in 1980s. The communist party argued that what we had as "socialism", and in particular "self-management" is the best form of democracy. In reality, we understand that it is not true.

David Held's book "Models of Democracy" was translated into Slovenian, one of south-Slavic languages, in a year of the fall of Berlin wall, Jun 1989. Few years later, it was published in Croatian also, with a special preface of D. Held personally.

The book was an excellent reference for all of us, who struggled for democracy, to understand what we are standing for. It is still important today, for we are still at the beginning of struggle for democratic institutions, procedures and culture. We had to struggle against a hard violence of human rights in the time of a nationalistic regime headed by Franjo Tudjman, 1990-1999. Today, we have problems with "politocracy", a strong power of politicians, who argued: "after elections, we have right to rule. Participation? What to hell is it?"

In addition, I can estimate that it is important for a people in countries with more democratic traditions, too. Historically, modern democracy is still a new system and we need to learn and to think about it's future development and defence.

Mir i dobro (Peace and good) from Croatia!

Zoran Ostric