Gerardo L. Munck is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics (2007), Measuring Democracy (2009), A Middle-Quality Institutional Trap: Democracy and State Capacity in Latin America (2020), Latin American Politics and Society (2022), and Critical Junctures and Historical Legacies (2022).

• List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction: The Social Sciences under Scrutiny; Part I. A Philosophical Approach to the Social Sciences: 1. The Evaluation of Social Science Research: A Framework; Part II. The Case of Democracy Studies: 2. The Nature and Origins of Modern Democracy: Setting the Terms of the Debate; 3. The Concept of Democracy: Defining and Delimiting the Meaning of Democracy; 4. Modernization Theory and Power Structure Theory: Exploring the Impact of Macro-Structural Change; 5. Political Economy Theory and Political Institutional Theory: Bringing in Government Policy and Political Choice; 6. Quality and Quantity in Empirical Research on Democracy: Generating Data and Testing Theories; Part III. Lessons for the Social Sciences: 7. Progress in the Quest for Knowledge: Dispelling Misconceptions, Expanding Horizons; References; Index.

Gerardo L. Munck is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics (2007), Measuring Democracy (2009), A Middle-Quality Institutional Trap: Democracy and State Capacity in Latin America (2020), Latin American Politics and Society (2022), and Critical Junctures and Historical Legacies (2022).

• List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction: The Social Sciences under Scrutiny; Part I. A Philosophical Approach to the Social Sciences: 1. The Evaluation of Social Science Research: A Framework; Part II. The Case of Democracy Studies: 2. The Nature and Origins of Modern Democracy: Setting the Terms of the Debate; 3. The Concept of Democracy: Defining and Delimiting the Meaning of Democracy; 4. Modernization Theory and Power Structure Theory: Exploring the Impact of Macro-Structural Change; 5. Political Economy Theory and Political Institutional Theory: Bringing in Government Policy and Political Choice; 6. Quality and Quantity in Empirical Research on Democracy: Generating Data and Testing Theories; Part III. Lessons for the Social Sciences: 7. Progress in the Quest for Knowledge: Dispelling Misconceptions, Expanding Horizons; References; Index.

Gerardo L. Munck is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics (2007), Measuring Democracy (2009), A Middle-Quality Institutional Trap: Democracy and State Capacity in Latin America (2020), Latin American Politics and Society (2022), and Critical Junctures and Historical Legacies (2022).

• List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction: The Social Sciences under Scrutiny; Part I. A Philosophical Approach to the Social Sciences: 1. The Evaluation of Social Science Research: A Framework; Part II. The Case of Democracy Studies: 2. The Nature and Origins of Modern Democracy: Setting the Terms of the Debate; 3. The Concept of Democracy: Defining and Delimiting the Meaning of Democracy; 4. Modernization Theory and Power Structure Theory: Exploring the Impact of Macro-Structural Change; 5. Political Economy Theory and Political Institutional Theory: Bringing in Government Policy and Political Choice; 6. Quality and Quantity in Empirical Research on Democracy: Generating Data and Testing Theories; Part III. Lessons for the Social Sciences: 7. Progress in the Quest for Knowledge: Dispelling Misconceptions, Expanding Horizons; References; Index.