Achieving Democracy opens with a discussion of the historical development of democracy, examining its benefits and various theoretical explanations. It then proceeds to test these theories with empirical evidence, through the examination of country cases studies from the first, second, and third waves of democracy. These case studies were carefully selected for their theoretical importance as well as their geographic, economic, and demographic diversity. Lastly, the work presents an assessment of the potential for democracy in the Middle East based on what is learned from the case studies and concludes with a synthesizing of the findings. Pedagogical tools appear throughout, including hypothesis-testing exercises, discussion questions, tables summarizing primary independent variables associated with democratization, summary of evidence to support or refute a variable's importance, and further readings. Achieving Democracy fills in a gap in the literature by presenting democratic theory in an accessible manner to intermediate undergraduate students, supplying them with the necessary tools to assess theories empirically and to understand democratization fully.

This is an analysis of how respect of the rule of law varies across countries that share a common historical heritage and similar socio-economic challenges. The book is a thorough study that focuses on the impact of the current crime wave on citizens' respect for the law in countries such as Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The work opens with a brief review of the literature on the rule of law and legal socialization, followed by an historical overview of the democratization and justice reform in Central America from the 1990s to the present. Set as a comparative, micro-level study, the work then looks at an array of measures from citizens' toleration of government abuses of power to vigilante justice and the reporting of crime to police. Lastly, an empirical model is developed to predict citizens' attitudes, combining both these micro-level individual attributes with macro-level measures of institutional performance. A unique look at the process of democratization from a comparative perspective, "Citizens' Support for the Rule of Law in Central America" will appeal to faculty, researchers, and students interested in Latin American politics, comparative politics, and democratic transition.

The book is a thorough study that focuses on the impact of the current crime wave on citizens' respect for the law in countries such as Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The work opens with a brief review of the literature on the rule of law and legal socialization, followed by an historical overview of the democratization and justice reform in Central America from the 1990s to the present. Set as a comparative, micro-level study, the work then looks at an array of measures from citizens' toleration of government abuses of power to vigilante justice and the reporting of crime to police. Lastly, an empirical model is developed to predict citizens' attitudes, combining both these micro-level individual attributes with macro-level measures of institutional performance. A unique look at the process of democratization from a comparative perspective, Citizens' Support for the Rule of Law in Central America it will appeal to faculty, researchers, and students interested in Latin American politics, comparative politics, and democratic transition.

Achieving Democracy opens with a discussion of the historical development of democracy, examining its benefits and various theoretical explanations. It then proceeds to test these theories with empirical evidence, through the examination of country cases studies from the first, second, and third waves of democracy. These case studies were carefully selected for their theoretical importance as well as their geographic, economic, and demographic diversity. Lastly, the work presents an assessment of the potential for democracy in the Middle East based on what is learned from the case studies and concludes with a synthesizing of the findings. Pedagogical tools appear throughout, including hypothesis-testing exercises, discussion questions, tables summarizing primary independent variables associated with democratization, summary of evidence to support or refute a variable's importance, and further readings. Achieving Democracy fills in a gap in the literature by presenting democratic theory in an accessible manner to intermediate undergraduate students, supplying them with the necessary tools to assess theories empirically and to understand democratization fully.