Introduction : whither democracy? -- Rule of, by, and for the people : for an apophatic democracy? -- Confronting democracy's many foes : Todorov's mellow humanism -- Democracy and liberation : a tribute to Enrique Dussel -- No spring but many seasons : Al-Jabri on Islamic democracy -- The prospect of Confucian democracy : some Asian constitutional debates -- Gandhi for today : self-rule, nonviolence, struggle for justice -- Political theology in a new key : democracy as creatio continua -- Conclusion : democracy to come.