Whilst there is widespread agreement that the mass communications media play a potentially crucial role both in democratization and in ensuring democracy's survival, this insight remains remarkably under-researched or theorized. The essays especially commissioned for this volume together analyse differing aspects of the complex relationship between the media and democracy in a diverse range of national contexts. Specific contributions examine the consequences of the media for privacy and for internal party democracy in Britain; the implications of the new information media for democracy; the media's role in democratization in eastern Europe, the Middle East Africa and Asia and in the ostensibly democratic politics of France and the US. In her introductory comments, the editor helpfully sets out the main underlying questions and draws upon the individual essays to suggest some broad comparative themes and conclusions.