Expecting a book on the nature of polyarchy (government by participation and contestation), I was a bit surprised to find that it only dealt with various preconditions that either promote or obstruct this form of government. These include economic variables, beliefs, history, social cleavages and so on. It's a well-written book, but most of the points the author makes seem to be either obvious or vague and speculative. Perhaps this simply is a subject more suitable for historical studies than for political theory. To his credit the author recognizes the limitations of his arguments in the closing chapter on "implications for strategies of change".