Our starting point for this Handbook is a conviction that the best form of post-conflict government is a democratic one. This is not so much a principled stand as a pragmatic one. Winston Churchill famously expressed a similar pragmatism when he remarked: “Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”. It may not be perfect, but in an imperfect world it is the best option available. As universal human rights become increasingly accepted as the core principles of governance, democracy becomes more and more clearly the most effective way of implementing those principles - equality, representation, participation, accountability and so on. Quite rightly, every democ racy is unique in some aspects, depending on context, culture and values. But each has those principles at its heart. Additionally, though, democracy is unique among forms of governance in its capacity to manage conflict. And this is a key attribute in a post-violence context. Democracy is a system for managing difference without recourse to violence.