"This book provides a comprehensive review of the relationship between utopia and democracy, challenging the tendency in Western scholarship to assume that an ideal society is inherently democratic. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the book covers an extensive range of historical periods and genres, and places emphasis on an understudied issue in the field, namely the role of Eastern and Central Europe in the study of utopianism. The various chapters reflect on the frequently overlooked role utopian thought plays in the development of democratic political structures, despite the fact that the history of classical utopianism demonstrates a multitude of non-democratic patterns. With contributions from political theory, history, cultural and literary studies, the volume explores a range of contexts, demonstrating how utopias offer both a critique and an inspiration for the evolution of democratic societies." --