Center for the Study of Democracy

First, I argue that constantly stressing the clash between democracy's shining ideal image and its decidedly unlovely reality often induces a cynicism about the democratic process that is uncomprehending and mostly undesirable. Second, I suggest that the continual overselling of equality by democratic idealists has encouraged the rise of a destructive and profoundly antidemocratic form¬¬I call it hyperdemocracy¬¬Third, I argue that adherence to the democratic image can logically lead some minorities to fear that, if the form is actually about equality, majority rule, and active participation, they stand to be persecuted in a democracy. Finally, I append a few cautionary comments about the burgeoning field of transitology which sometimes tends to advance a perspective that can inspire a damaging short ¬term perspective in new democracies, and I also question the usefulness of the concept of "democratic consolidation."