Democratization has become a crucial issue for both developing states and others seeking full integration into the post-Cold War world. Democracy is now a major requirement of support from major international funding bodies and donor states and is viewed as essential for economic efficiency, political legitimacy, and social order. Based on the experience of a wide range of "democratizing" states and synthesizing a wide range of theoretical and empirical material, this book aims to provide an interdisciplinary introduction to, and assessment of, democratization in the contemporary world.