I’m totally swamped with reading for my so-called “formal education,” but since it’s mostly on democracy and terrorism perhaps you all will be interested in checking out the books that I myself am reading at this time.

– Democratization: A Critical Introduction: Very basic. If you’ve been reading this site, then you will easily understand all of the major concepts and theories introduced in this book.

– The Dynamics of Democratization : Elites, Civil Society and the Transition Process: I like this one a bit more than the above, because it focuses a lot on the role of elites and civil society when examining transitions toward democracy, something that has painfully been neglected in democratization studies.

– The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century: An oldie but a goodie. While Huntington is known for making rather broad arguments (see: The Clash of Civilizations), his terminology has become much used in the political science world. Since it was written back in 1993, it was based on a very immediate perspective of what was going on in the post-Soviet space, which makes it interesting because you can look back and judge how correct or incorrect he might have been on some points.

– Violence and Terrorism: There is a new edition every year, so this is for 2006-2007. I actually like this book quite a bit because it isn’t full of typical dry textbook writing. It’s composed of various smart, well-written essays that are as thought-provoking as they are enjoyable to read.

– Terrorism and Homeland Security: Much more text-booky, so I tend to get bored. However, it picks up after several chapters, and details about the organization of terrorist groups is always interesting. Reminds me a lot of basic business management classes.

– Inside Terrorism: I haven’t read too much of this one yet. It looks like it goes into a lot of depth into religious-based terrorism specifically, and focuses on its internationalization and tactics. But I’ve really been putting it off, because the first chapter is “Defining Terrorism,” a debate that has wasted way too many trees.