This work addresses some of the fundamental questions surrounding the practice of democracy at the end of the 20th century and the difficulties of governance in the 21st century, including issues of globalization, nationalism, and direct democracy.

According to a recent feature in The Economist, democracy has been only half achieved this century and should flower in the next. In preparation for new forms of democracy, well-known political theorist Philip Resnick addresses some of the fundamental questions surrounding the practice of democracy at the end of the twentieth century and the difficulties of governance in the twenty-first century, including issues of globalization, nationalism, and direct democracy.