Microscope or Telescope? The Study of Democratisation across World Regions

Abstract

This review article brings together six recent books on democratisation. They cover Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, East Central Europe and the Balkans, Eurasia, and East and South East Asia. The review asks what we can learn from reading about democratisation in different parts of the world. The aim is twofold: to identify regionally specific processes of democratisation and to explore cross-regional commonalities. When viewed in combination, these regional studies of democratisation reveal the limitations of area studies and the need for comparative area studies. Cheeseman N (2015) Democracy in Africa: Successes, Failures, and the Struggle for Political Reform.This review brings together six studies of democratisation published in the last 3 years by reputable academic publishers. The books are all written from a clear regional perspective and were selected as typical examples of theoretically informed area studies. They cover