Can today’s leaders draw on lessons from successful experiences of democratization in previous decades to overcome transitional traps and other failures of democracy?

Myanmar’s general elections, scheduled for early November this year, could mark a watershed in the country’s transition from military dictatorship to parliamentary democracy.

As President Obama travels to Myanmar for the East Asia Summit and U.S.-ASEAN Summit on November 12, pressure on the Myanmar government is mounting to revise its pro-military constitution and enact real reform.