Abstract
<jats:p>The book analyzes democratic processes in divided societies, with a special emphasis on countries marked by deep ethnic, cultural and political divisions. Starting from a comparative methodological framework, the authors examine the conditions for achieving and maintaining stable democracy through six case studies: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Israel, Nigeria and Switzerland. The analysis covers different institutional models of governance, with particular attention paid to consociational democracy as one of the dominant approaches to governing divided societies. The book problematizes the applicability of Western democratic models in the context of new and post-conflict democracies and considers the challenges of democratic governance in conditions of permanent social divisions. By comparing institutional solutions and socio-political developments in the observed cases, the authors reveal the advantages and limitations of different models of democracy and open a debate on the possibilities of establishing effective and sustainable democratic orders in divided societies.</jats:p>