Book Review: Comparative Politics: Democracy in the South: Participation, the State and the People
| Author | Adam Gill |
| Published date | 01 May 2013 |
| Date | 01 May 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1478-9302.12016_60 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
C O M P A RA T I VE P O L I T I C S
this volume aims to chart more fully than previous
Democracy in the South: Participation, the State
collections how semi-presidentialism was taken on by
and the People by Brendan Howe, Vesselin Popo-
so many states and to explain this regime type.
vski and Mark Notaras (eds). Tokyo: United Nations
Elgie’s introductory chapter gives an invaluable over-
University Press, 2010. 233pp., £23.99, ISBN 978 92
view of not only what semi-presidentialism is, in the
808 1178 0
author’s view, but also how it compares to parliamen-
Defining democracy is a notoriously difficult task. In
tary and presidential systems and the literature that
Democracy in the South, there is a clear intent to avoid
surrounds them. He also charts the historical begin-
this, as the editors state that ‘it is an essentially contested
nings, from Finland in 1919 to the present, describing
concept rather than conforming to a single universal
41 states as of 2009 fulfilling their definition of semi-
model’ (p. 1). Moving away from models of democratic
presidential democracy, which is a state where there is
governance favoured in the global North, Democracy in
a directly or popularly elected president and a separate
the South is a collection of studies based on democratic
position of prime minister who is responsible to the
processes in Africa, Latin America and Asia. This edited
legislature. Along with this critical introduction there is
volume consists of nine case studies concerning Ven-
a very useful chapter by Wu on the different clusters:
ezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana,
West European, post-Leninist and post-colonial in the
India, Thailand and the Philippines, which transcend
global distribution. This chapter serves to give an
traditional perceptions of what is deemed to be demo-...
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