"Sharp-eyed, sure-handed, and knowledgeable, Elisabeth Wood makes a compelling case for the contribution of popular insurgency to democratization. As she pursues it, the unlikely comparison of El Salvador and South Africa yields important and unexpected returns." Chuck Tilly, Columbia University

• Introduction; 1. From civil war to democracy: improbable transitions in oligarchic societies; Part I. El Salvador's Path to Democracy: 2. From conservative modernization to civil war; 3. The structural foundation of a pact: the transformation of elite interests; 4. Negotiating a democratic transition to end civil war; Part II. From Racial Oligarchy to Pluralist Democracy in South Africa: 5. Apartheid, conservative modernization, and resistance; 6. The challenge to elite economic interests; 7. From recalcitrance to compromise; Conclusion; 8. The insurgent path to democracy in oligarchic societies; Epilogue: the legacy of democracy forged from below.

"Sharp-eyed, sure-handed, and knowledgeable, Elisabeth Wood makes a compelling case for the contribution of popular insurgency to democratization. As she pursues it, the unlikely comparison of El Salvador and South Africa yields important and unexpected returns." Chuck Tilly, Columbia University

• Introduction; 1. From civil war to democracy: improbable transitions in oligarchic societies; Part I. El Salvador's Path to Democracy: 2. From conservative modernization to civil war; 3. The structural foundation of a pact: the transformation of elite interests; 4. Negotiating a democratic transition to end civil war; Part II. From Racial Oligarchy to Pluralist Democracy in South Africa: 5. Apartheid, conservative modernization, and resistance; 6. The challenge to elite economic interests; 7. From recalcitrance to compromise; Conclusion; 8. The insurgent path to democracy in oligarchic societies; Epilogue: the legacy of democracy forged from below.

"Sharp-eyed, sure-handed, and knowledgeable, Elisabeth Wood makes a compelling case for the contribution of popular insurgency to democratization. As she pursues it, the unlikely comparison of El Salvador and South Africa yields important and unexpected returns." Chuck Tilly, Columbia University

• Introduction; 1. From civil war to democracy: improbable transitions in oligarchic societies; Part I. El Salvador's Path to Democracy: 2. From conservative modernization to civil war; 3. The structural foundation of a pact: the transformation of elite interests; 4. Negotiating a democratic transition to end civil war; Part II. From Racial Oligarchy to Pluralist Democracy in South Africa: 5. Apartheid, conservative modernization, and resistance; 6. The challenge to elite economic interests; 7. From recalcitrance to compromise; Conclusion; 8. The insurgent path to democracy in oligarchic societies; Epilogue: the legacy of democracy forged from below.