Introduction, 1. -- The westminster model of democracy, 9. -- The consensus model of democracy, 31. -- Thirty-six democracies, 48. -- Party systems : Two-party and multiparty patterns, 62. -- Cabinets : Concentration versus sharing of executive power, 90. -- Executive-legislative relations : Patterns of dominance and balance of power, 116. -- Electoral systems : Majority and plurality mehtods versus proportional representation, 143. -- Interest groups : Pluralism versus corporatism, 171. -- Division of power : The federal-unitary an centralized-descentralized contrasts, 185. -- Parliaments and congresses : Concentration versus division of legislative power, 200. -- Constitutions : Amendment procedures and judicial review, 216. -- Central banks : Independence versus dependence, 232. -- The two-dimensional conceptual map of democracy, 243. -- Macro-economic management and the control of violence : Does consensus democracy make a difference?, 258. -- The quality of democracy and a kinder, gentler democracy : consensus democracy makes a difference, 275. -- Conclusions and recommendations, 301