Conditions and Prospects for Mature Democracy. This book is comprised of three parts and a total of six chapters. In Part Ⅰ entitled "Rethinking Democracy in Global Perspective." two introductory chapters are presented, which were originally delivered as Keynote Speeches at the International Conference held in the National Academy of Sciences. The first chapter by Kim Kyong-Dong, Professor Emeritus of Seoul National University, opens the volume with the title, "Is Perfect Democracy Possible?" followed by the second chapter on "Democracy : Between Hope and Despair" by David Held of Durham University in the UK.