This work may prove a starting point for a broader discussion concerning polyarchies that will lead to additional substantial contributions in this very important area of scholarship. This succinct and easily readable volume is recommende for general university collections and audiences. Perspective

Robert Waste presents a new method of analyzing community power and local government aimed at keeping democracy as a central focus and resolving the conflicts that have created an impasse around key theoretical issues. Providing an in-depth study of Robert A. Dahl's theory of polyarchy and the secondary literature it has generated, he develops a model that not only offers a way to test municipal polyarchy empirically but appreciably strengthens the theoretical base of studies in this area.