This volume brings together studies of the small number of previously established states that have retained and/or restored democracy despite - in many cases - formidable economic, social or political challenges. It seeks to establish common themes, whether or not they appear to fit a grand casual theory. It is, after all, the very adaptability of democratic systems that characterises their persistence, durability and resilience.
Peter Calvert is Emeritus Professor of Comparative and International Politics at the University of Southampton.
Susan Calvert was formerly a Lecturer at Itchen College, Southampton and a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Southampton.