he collapse of the Soviet Union has lead to what some observers have called the third wave of democratization, both in Europe and in what once was called the third world. Along with this third wave, however, has come great concern over the stability of newly emerging democracies. This is an issue well worth worrying over. For, as the evidence of this paper suggests, forms of government of all sorts are difficult to sustain. So it is important for us to figure out how, when, and why democracies and authoritarian government survive and flourish. This knowledge will help politicians in newly emerging democracies preserve their fledgling regimes. And it will help those of us in established democracies figure out how we might aid aspiring politicians in newly emerging democracies. Too often in the past, however, we have been reluctant to provide all the aid we should to emerging democracies because we had little faith in their ability to survive. The message of this paper is thus quite important to contemporary politics. For we will be more likely to provide aid to newly emerging democracies if we recognize that democratic regimes can be as stable as authoritarian regimes. All regimes are fragile. All need attention, care and prudence. But democratic regimes are not more fragile than non-democratic regimes.