The rise of democracy is thought to be the pre-eminent development of the twentieth century. In the last two decades, the study of democracy and democratisation has been one main strand of the comparative study of politics, and particular attention has been paid to the relationship between Islam and democracy. Focusing on a proceduralist definition of democracy in terms of 'equality' and 'popular participation', Hadji Haidar articulates a Shi'a Islamic theory of religious democracy, which finds its parallel in Western secular democracy in the unspecified concept of democracy and has a particular religious component. His analysis compares ideal secular democracy and ideal religious democracy, and contrasts actual secular democracy with actual religious democracy.