Far fetched? Of course. Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? No. The chances of

fascist dictators seizing power in Russia are still slight. In a Las Vegas

casino, the odds would still firmly be with Boris Yeltsin.1 Yet, the specter

of Russian dictatorship is real and growing at a frightening pace.

Meanwhile, American engagement, and Western involvement more

generally, has come under sharp criticism by both Russian nationalists and

even Russian liberals who vested their political careers on their ability to

deliver Western assistance. Despite nationalist resurgence in Russia and

Western neglect, the reform process will still probably survive albeit

amended to deal with these new circumstances. If reforms turn sour,

however, the West will have missed the most important opportunity for

promoting democracy and insuring world peace of this century. The

Clinton campaign correctly made the analogy between the Bush

administration winning the Cold War and the rooster calling the sun to

rise. However, if the sun sets during the Clinton administration, they will

still be blamed for loosing the peace.

Much has been written already about the changed international system of the 1990s, projecting the configuration of a restructured Europe, the future role of the former Soviet republics and the United States, and the emergence of a multipolar world with or without a dominant hegemon. In the search for new structures and explanations, however, it is too often assumed in error that these apply to what we label the "Third World" in the same way that they do to the "North" or the "West."

This book explores the phenomenon of global transformation in the context of the Third World, looking specifically at the preference for more democratic political systems, the emergence of a new international economic order, and the changing forms of conflict, its mitigation, and its resolution. The authors provide major theoretical analyses of these three trends, as well as in-depth case studies that explore specific developments.

No living political scientist or sociologist is more frequently cited by other scholars than Seymour Martin Lipset. He is one of the most prolific social scientists of this century--the author (or co-author) of 21 books and the editor (or co-editor) of 25 more. Lipset's influential Political Man has been published in 16 countries, including Israel, Japan, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia. Now, in this comprehensive and well-integrated selection of essays, an all-star cast pays tribute to Lipset's scholarship by exploring his core theme: the conditions, problems, dynamics, values, and institutions of democracy, both in the United States and comparatively throughout the world. Reexamining Democracy--like Lipset's own wide-ranging intellectual work--is devoted to rethinking the character and development of democracy in America and beyond. With the ongoing resurgence of democracy in the world and the faltering performances of many established democracies acting as an ironic backdrop, this collection of diverse thought offers fascinating perspectives on an ever potent and compelling social force.

"Economic Development and Democracy Reconsidered" also reprinted in American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 35 (March/June 1992), pp. 450-499, and in Spanish in Estudios Publicos, no. 49, 1993)

The war in El Salvador is over. On January 16, 1992, in Mexico Citys ornate Chapultepec Castle the government of President Alfredo Cristiani and the rebel Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) formally signed a comprehensive peace treaty, putting an end to 12 years of conflict.

As 1992 began, the scene of Americas most prolonged military involvement since Vietnam presented images unimaginable just a few months before. In Mexico City, after unexpectedly signing the peace agreement in person, President Cristiani strode across the podium to shake hands with all five FMLN commanders as participants on both sides cried openly. In El Salvador a sea of FMLN flags filled San Salvadors Civic Plaza in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral, where the army once massacred political dissidents; the cathedral itself was draped with an enormous banner of the assassinated Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. A ceremony held to observe the commencement of the formal ceasefire was especially poignant: army officers and rebel commanders stood together at attention to sing the Salvadoran anthem on a dais decorated with the flags of El Salvador, the ruling Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the FMLN. The rival commandants then accompanied President Cristiani to light an eternal flame in commemoration of the more than 75,000 Salvadorans who died in the tiny countrys war.

The American policy of assisting "freedom fighters" in their struggle against "Marxist" regimes in the Third World- the so-called Reagan Doctrine- represents one of the most significant foreign policy innovations of the Reagan presidency. By the close of the Reagan administration, the policy appeared to have achieved sweeping results in forcing communism to retreat in Afghanistan, Angola, and Kampuchea. Proponents of the policy have attributed the 1988 peace settlement between Angola, Cuba, and South Africa, and subsequent discussions on Angolan national reconciliation, to the Reagan doctrine"s success.

The argument is advanced that the level of university student political activity in a society tends to reflect the degree to which the student social status is developed and formulated as a social type. In societies in which this position is incorporated centrally and is given a great deal of distinctive meaning, political activity will tend to be high. This is particularly true when the student status is normatively incorporated in, regulated by, and given meaning with respect to the national political system. The educational system and the student status tend to be centrally incorporated and highly defined in modern societies because they provide normative and symbolic answers to certain crucial problems which arise in the nation-building process: the justification of the intergration and political authority of citizens and the legitimation and explanation of elite authority. Thus, students tend to be seen in most nations as a peculiarly important corporate constituent of the national society and tend to be more politically active than many other groups. The historically exceptional position of students in the United States and the recent changes toward a more typical level of politicization are considered.