| Sumario: | Western political thought has long maintained that democracy, once achieved, is here to stay. This view appears to be confirmed by successive 'waves of democratisation' across the world but, in truth, the political situation of our time is much more ambiguous. On the one hand, the commitment to democracy seems to be more widely shared than ever. On the other, popular will has ever less impact on political decisions because of alleged constraints in an era of 'globalisation': existing democracies suffer from a combination of technocratic governance and populist reactions; and global political communication remains far from adequately addressing urgent problems. The book assesses the political condition of our time by placing it in a long-term historical context. It radically reconsiders key issues of political thought and provides a comparative exploration of current experiences of democracy in several world regions. Key Features, Provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the current state of democracy, reviews the history of political thought by emphasizing tensions and ambiguities from within the commitment to democracy, Suggests that a major political transformation is under way since the 1960s that upsets the expectation of guarantees democratic stability, combines critical theory, political thought and solid empirical analysis, Explicitly addresses the current relationship between North and South and broadens political theory debate about democracy by including experiences from the 'global South', including South Africa, Latin America, Argentina and Brazil.
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