ABSTRACT
Democratic institutions and norms have had an unsteady history: contested, rejected, celebrated, and built piece by piece; destroyed at some moments, sustained in others. The first two readings address the question: What are the ultimate foundations for understanding why democracy matters? The next reading suggests ways to envision political institutions that are not necessarily democratic for a changing and imperfect world. The last three readings address a range of important questions, including: what is the relationship between tradition and democracy? What are the requirements of democracy from a global perspective? What are social movements and what is their proper role in a democracy?
