n Iran, voters celebrate in the streets at the reelection of the country's reform-minded president. In the Dominican Republic, people line up to vote hours before the polls open. In Fayetteville, North Carolina, citizens heatedly debate the funding of a downtown revitalization plan.

In each case, democracy is a work in progress. Those Iranian voters also face a police force and army controlled by conservative clergy. In the Dominican Republic, the average income is only $2,000 a year. And even in North Carolina, some people feel powerless in their public debates.

There are many brands of democracy today, each with its own successes and failures. At Carolina, a large group of researchers (more than we can name here) is working to understand these new democracies. The following stories share some of their work.