Where Hope Takes Root: Democracy and Pluralism in an Independent World

In Where Hope Takes Root, a collection of talks given over the past six years, the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims sets out the principles that inform his vision of peaceful, productive societies. He returns again and again to the three cornerstones upon which his many years of work in the developing world are based: democracy, pluralism and civil society. Democracy, always fragile, must be nurtured in practical and flexible ways, he says. Pluralism must be embraced in both fact and spirit. And engaged civil society, which the Aga Khan defines broadly as including doctors' and journalists' associations, women's groups, social movements, village organizations and trade unions, must be actively supported in countries around the globe.