A decade has passed since the Third Wave of democratization brought an avalanche of new, relatively unstable democracies into being, raising the question, “How solid is support for democracy in these countries?” In the intervening years, public support for democracy has faded in some countries, many of which are democratic in name only. It is unclear how long even the pretense of electoral democracy will survive in the Soviet successor states, apart from the Baltics (Brzezinski 2001). The prospects for democracy in Islamic countries seem particularly poor, with some writers arguing that the basic values of Islamic publics may be incompatible with liberal democracy (Huntington 1993, 1996). This article examines this claim, using the 1999–2001 wave of the World Values Survey, which includes 10 Islamic countries, making it possible for the first time to compare the Islamic world with other major cultural zones. We find surprisingly widespread support for democracy among Islamic publics—at least by conventional measures.

Back in olden days instructors' manuals consisted of little more than test banks, and a few film/video suggestions. First to innovate were authors of American government texts. That revolution in support materials has progressed to international politics.

I felt compelled to write this brief essay after glancing through “The Teacher” section of the recent issues of PS. There are several articles exhorting young educators, soon-to-be educators, or those considering pursuing a career in academia to think about what it means to get in front of a classroom and impart that information which we believe will make a world of difference to our students. These eminent scholars with years of cumulative experience offer sage advice, relevant anecdotes, and a rosy perspective on how exploring alternative avenues of information dissemination will make the classroom experience more positive and fruitful for instructor and student alike.

One morning the group of students who were leading my “Ecology and Politics” class that day decided that we should hold class outside, in the garden of a nearby university reception center. We ventured out, into a classic South Carolina spring day, with a bright blue sky and trees full of blossoms. On the way, the group discovered that they had forgotten to bring markers to write on the large pad that they were carrying. I let them continue on, to get started, while I headed back to my departmental office to pick up some markers. When I returned, markers in hand, I was treated to a sight that reminded me of what education might be like: a large open-air tent had been erected in the garden for a reception later in the day, and under the tent were my students, seated in chairs in a circle, in the midst of an animated discussion of spiritual ecology. I took my seat in the circle, enjoyed the beautiful setting, turned in my journal assignment when asked, and contributed a few comments to the discussion.

This is the first article in what will be an ongoing column on mentoring to be published in PS: Political Science and Politics over the next three years as part of the Task Force on Mentoring, established by the APSA Council in the fall of 2002. The Task Force was designed to provide general advice and help with mentoring, with a special focus on the needs of women and minorities. This column describes the general goals of the Task Force and asks for volunteers to help in our work as we establish a more formal mentoring program for political scientists.