Democracy is in vogue it seems. Everywhere in the world, the forces opposed to democracy seem to be in retreat, and the number of states calling themselves democracies is increas- ing. There are exceptions, of course: parts of Africa, tortured Burma, all over the Middle East, some aging Communist oligarchies, a few proud holdouts in sultanates and mountain monarchies. But they are increasingly anachronisms in the end-of-history world. Or are they? The literature is replete with controversy on the definition, durability, inevitably, and universality of democracy. Into this controversy comes a new book that takes direct aim at the literature of the past decades and provides a badly needed comparative analysis of some of the states in South Asia. Maya Chadda's goals are clear and ambitious: to bring the neglected experience of South Asia to the attention of a wider audience, in the context of the most central debates about the nature of democracy.