Richard Swift is Co-editor of the New Internationalist and author of the No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy.

Following the economic meltdown and the triumph of Barack Obama, have the chances of genuine democracy improved?

In this updated edition of The No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Richard Swift explores how democracy has been constricted and deformed by economic power brokers and a self-serving political class from Birmingham to Bangalore. He considers the different tools people in power have used to manipulate democratic principles, such as freedom, to their advantage.

The book includes chapter-length discussions of topics such as the economic meltdown, Barack Obama, eco-democracy, democratizing the economy, and democracy in the global south. It is also a guide to the rich diversity of forms of elected government, and it contains practical ideas for empowering today's voters around the world.

Richard Swift was co-editor for the New Internationalist magazine from 1984 to 2007 and lives in Toronto. He has written and broadcast on questions of ecology and democracy for many years.