The 2011 Arab Spring protests seemed to mark a turning point in Middle East politics, away from authoritarianism and toward democracy. Within a few years, however, most observers saw the protests as a failure given the outbreak of civil wars and re-emergence of authoritarian strongmen in countries like Egypt. But in Delta Democracy, Catherine E. Herrold argues that we should not overlook the ongoing mobilization taking place in grassroots civil society. Drawing upon ethnographic research on Egypt's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the wake of the uprisings, Herrold uncovers the strategies that local NGOs used to build a more democratic and just society. Departing from US-based democracy advocates' attempts to reform national political institutions, local Egyptian organizations worked with communities to build a culture of democracy through public discussion, debate, and collective action. At present, these forms of participatory democracy are more attainable than establishing fair elections or parliaments, and they are helping Egyptians regain a sense of freedom that they have been denied as the long-time subjects of a dictator. Delta Democracy advances our understanding of how civil society organizations maneuver under state repression in order to combat authoritarianism. It also offers a concrete set of recommendations on how US policymakers can restructure foreign aid to better help local community organizations fighting to expand democracy.

Education theorists, demonstrating that a democratically informed education is not an outmoded idea, establish intellectual foundations for revitalizing American schools and offer ideas for how the educational process can become more democratic. An initial series of articles reexamines the original premise of American education as articulated by thinkers like Jefferson and Dewey. A second set identifies flaws in how schools are currently governed and offers models for change. The final group analyzes the implications for education posed by value conflicts arising over the twin strands of a democracy: socialization and governance. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR