Democratization has sought - and continues to seek - to build on the enduring scholarly and of course popular interest in democracy, how and why it emerges, develops and becomes consolidated. The emphasis over the last 20 years of the journal has been contemporary and the approach comparative, with a strong desire to be both topical and

Aurel Croissant is Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg, Germany.

Jeffrey Haynes is associate dean, Faculty of Law, Governance and International Relations, Professor of Politics, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion, Conflict and Cooperation, London Metropolitan University, UK.

Editors' Preface 1. Reinforcing Participatory Democracy in Cuba: An Alternative Development Strategy? 2. Markets, States and Democracy: Patron-Client Networks and the Case for Democracy in Developing Countries 3. Beyond Hybrid Regimes: More participation, less contestation in Southeast Asia 4. Authoritarian Persistence, Democratization Theory and the Middle East: An Overview and Critique 5. Democratic Enclaves in Authoritarian Regimes 6. Nomenklatura Democratization: Electoral Clientelism in Post-Soviet Ukraine 7. Comparing regime Support in Non-democratic and Democratic Countries