Max Weber, Democracy and Modernization

After the collapse of communism, many states are faced with the challenges of democratization; they need to establish their legitimacy in an uncertain economic climate and within a geopolitical order. This book brings Max Weber's sociology to bear on this transformation of the political landscape. The essays in this volume develop Weberian concepts and apply his comparative-historical method with the aim of deepening our understanding of these problems. They cover a wide range of examples, from the United States to Western and Eastern Europe, and from Russia and Japan to the Islamic states.