"The question of how democratic government reacts to the challenges of societal and technological changes is of tremendous importance. The distinguished contributors provide accessible overviews of a variety of important topics related to the success of democracy, including multi-ethnic threats to democracy and government tactics for spying on its citizens. Highly recommended."--James L. Gibson, author of Overcoming Apartheid"Setting out the main challenges that face both emerging and mature democracies, this collection will be essential for political scientists, sociologists, economists, historians, and communications scholars who seek to understand the nature of democracy in the twenty-first century."--Edward G. Carmines, coauthor of Issue Evolution and Reaching Beyond Race