This book is a joint report of twenty-one social scientists, from ten countries and four academic disciplines, who collaborated over the period of two years under the name of the Group on East-South Systems Transformations (ESST). The authors explore the social, political, and economic conditions under which democracy is likely to generate desirable and politically desired objectives, as well as whether it is likely to last. They argue that the state has an essential role in promoting universal citizenship and in creating conditions for sustained economic growth. Special emphasis is placed on the interdependence between political and economic reforms.

Introduction: the background - modernisation via internationalisation: a preview -the state, democracy, and the economy; Part I. Democracy and Democratic Institutions; 1. Transitions to democracy and territorial integrity ;2. Democracy, citizenship, and the state; 3. Democratic institutions; 4. Civil society; Part II. Markets, Property Systems, and Economic Growth; 5. Economic reforms in new democracies: criteria of success of market-oriented reforms, evidence, an alternative strategy; 6. Privatization and its alternatives: the pitfalls of mass-scale privatization, alternatives to privatization; Conclusion: sustainable democracy; References.