Buultjens addresses the problem of integration and fragmentation in considering the cyclical patterns of democracy and the question of whether or not his most recent democratic moment will hold. His work builds on a basic question as to how citizens and leaders can "adhere to the middle of the road paved by traditional values when the course of history is moving groups and nations toward narrowly defined, self-serving solutions." He finds some reasons for optimism in the new political realities that are potential sources for constructive integration. He discusses the future prospects for democracy by asking whether the present "democratic starburst" can be translated into durable systems and working institutions.
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