By revealing the contextual conditions which promote or hinder democratic development, Comparative Politics shows how democracy may not be the best institutional arrangement given a country's unique set of historical, economic, social, cultural and international circumstances.

• Addresses the contextual conditions which promote or hinder democratic development
• Reveals that democracy may not be the best institutional arrangement given a country's unique set of historical, economic, social, cultural and international circumstances
• Applies theories and principles relating to the promotion of the development of democracy to the contemporary case studies