Cultures of Democracy in Serbia and Bulgaria

«’Through a comparison of public spheres in Bulgaria and Serbia, this book illustrates the weaknesses of current measurements of democracy. Dawson’s ethnographic approach allows him to demonstrate the counterintuitive conclusion that Serbia has a more solid foundation for liberal democracy than EU member Bulgaria. Of tremendous interest for anyone interested in democratic transitions, democracy promotion, and liberal theory more generally.’ Chip Gagnon, Ithaca College, USA ’There is a troubling gap in the literature on democratic transformations: the cultural dimension of these processes is insufficiently explored and poorly understood. This book fills this gap in the most persuasive manner. Based on an ingeniously conceived ethnography of public spaces, carefully calibrated comparative design, and masterfully collected evidence the author shows that the ranking of political systems based on the formalist criteria, employed for example by Freedom House, is not as conclusive as it is often assumed. A different»