Introduction

This introductory chapter motivates the substantive questions addressed in this manuscript. I use examples from various regions of the world to evidence the relevance of this worldwide problem and its importance to the democracy theory as a whole. I also highlight the main debates in the field and present their limitations. A special section discusses the research design, paying special attention to the case selection and methods. The chapter concludes by presenting a brief outline of the argument and how that argument contributes to the debates in the literature and provides a better understanding.