Forging Democracy from Below

The Recent Replacement Of Authoritarian Rule By Democracy In Both South Africa And El Salvador Poses A Puzzle: Why Did The Powerful Anti-Democratic Elites Of These Countries Abandon Death Squads Apartheid And The Other Tools Of Political Repression And Take A Chance On Democracy? Forging Democracy From Below Shows How Popular Mobilization--In El Salvador An Effective Guerilla Army Supported By Peasant Collaboration And In South Africa A Powerful Alliance Of Labor Unions And Poor Urban Dwellers--Forced The Elite To The Bargaining Table And Why A Durable Settlement And Democratic Government Were The Result.