Following the economic meltdown and the triumph of Barack Obama, have the chances of genuine democracy improved?In this updated edition of The No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy , Richard Swift explores how democracy has been constricted and deformed by economic power brokers and a self-serving political class from Birmingham to Bangalore. He considers the different tools people in power have used to manipulate democratic principles, such as freedom, to their advantage.The book includes chapter-length discussions of topics such as the economic meltdown, Barack Obama, eco-democracy, democratizing the economy, and democracy in the global south. It is also a guide to the rich diversity of forms of elected government, and it contains practical ideas for empowering today's voters around the world.Richard Swift was co-editor for the New Internationalist magazine from 1984 to 2007 and lives in Toronto. He has written and broadcast on questions of ecology and democracy for many years.