This book examines the experience of democracy in developing countries such as Mexico, Zambia, India and Indonesia. It considers the patchy democratic record of such countries, as well as investigating the relationship between external and domestic factors to democratisation. The contributors assess the importance to democratic progress of a number of key variables, including:
*the institutionalisation of political parties and electoral systems
* the role of civil society
*the influence of external actors, such as the European Union

1. Introduction: The 'Third World' and the 'Third Wave of Democracy' 2. Quality Assessment of Democracy in the 'Third World' 3. Illiberal Democracy in the 'Third World' - An Empirical Enquiry 4. Electoral Institutional Change and Democratisation - Or: Election Administrative Quality and the Legitimacy of 'Third World' Elections 5. Party Institutionalisation and the New Democracies 6. External Actors in Processes of Democratic Consolidation: The European Union and Malawi 7. Democratic Transition and Consolidation in Mexico 8. Taking Stock of Democracy in Zambia 9. Political Parties and the Development of Indian Democracy 10. Indonesia's Democratisation 11. Conclusions