Globalising Democracy : Power, Legitimacy and the Interpretation of Democratic Ideas

Globalizing Democracy offers an in-depth discussion of some of the most pressing moral issues involved in the area of democratization and development. While most accounts in this area concentrate on the causal nature of democratization, Globalizing Democracy argues that development studies must begin by critically evaluating the normative claims of democracy espoused by various political actors. Why has democracy evolved into such an ambiguous concept? How viable is the idea of a "non-liberal democracy"? And, most importantly, must a philosophically coherent account of democracy entail the imposition of Western norms upon the rest of the world?

Katherine Fierlbeck is Associate Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University, Canada.