This chapter introduces the following empirical part of the volume of paired and triple comparisons of contrasting cases of democracies set in various regional contexts, as well as two polar cases. A brief literature encompasses the period from the high hopes at the onset of the ‘Third Wave’ to the gradual erosion, stagnation or breakdown of some democracies and causes thereof. This chapter follows a mixed research design taking account of both the broader global developments and the more detailed regional and case-based ones. Macro-level analyses draw on the most recent Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) data set, the Human Development Index (HDI) and World Bank Governance indicators, and similar sources. Micro-level attitudes and perceptions are assessed using data from the World Values Surveys (WVS) and the ‘European Values Study’ (EVS) for all countries where at least two waves of surveys have been conducted during the last two decades.