During the 1970s, George Soros, the Hungarian-born financier, funded opposition movements under Communist regimes. Here, he recounts his efforts to further the cause of democracy in eastern Europe, and calls for the Soviet economy to be restructured around a hard currency.

In recent years, and especially following the end of the cold war, democratization has become one of the most crucial issues on the international political scene. A great many states are undergoing an extraordinary and difficult transition to democracy. And that transition is deeply influenced by the new international context. A range of highly respected scholars from around the world and several disciplines tackle the role and importance of international relations in the democratic development of states in the Americas and Europe. Combining theoretical approaches with a rich set of empirical case studies, the book examines the development of democratic regimes in countries and regions as diverse as Brazil, Spain, Greece, the Caribbean, and East Central Europe. At the international level, the book considers the influence of US Foreign Policy, International politicalL finance, the UN, European Union, as well as the wide range of international political influences on the development of democratic politics. Oxford Studies in Democratization is a series for scholars and students of comparative politics and related disciplines. Volumes will concentrate on the comparative study of the democratization process that accompanied the decline and termination of the cold war. The geographical Caribbean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and Southern and Eastern Asia.

The troubling ethics and politics of philanthropy Is philanthropy, by its very nature, a threat to today’s democracy? Though we may laud wealthy individuals who give away their money for society’s benefit, Just Giving shows how such generosity not only isn’t the unassailable good we think it to be but might also undermine democratic values. Big philanthropy is often an exercise of power, the conversion of private assets into public influence. And it is a form of power that is largely unaccountable and lavishly tax-advantaged. Philanthropy currently fails democracy, but Rob Reich argues that it can be redeemed. Just Giving investigates the ethical and political dimensions of philanthropy and considers how giving might better support democratic values and promote justice.

George Soros's The Crisis of Global Capitalism became an international bestseller and an instant classic; a must read for anyone concerned with the complex market forces that rule our global economy and create both prosperity and instability. Now, in Open Society, Soros takes a new and provocative look at the arguments he made in that book, incorporating the latest global economic and political developments into his analysis. He shows how our economic and political arrangements are out of sync. Recognizing that our existing institutions are under the sway of sovereign states, he proposes an "open society alliance" with the dual purpose of fostering open societies in individual countries and laying the groundwork for a global open society. In leading up to his inspiring vision, Soros presents an iconoclastic view of the world that has guided him both in making money and spending it on his network of Open Society Foundations. This book sums up the life's work of an exceptional individual. George Soros is the best fund manager in history, a stateless statesman, and an original thinker.

This pathbreaking study examines foundations' democracy assistance programs in Central Europe in the years immediately following the fall of the Berlin Wall, both measuring their size and evaluating their strategies.