The Shortest History of Democracy

Democracy has a long, eventful past. Does it have a future? The roots of democracy stretch back beyond Athens to Syria-Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent, where citizens’ assemblies held privilege and power to account over three millennia before the French Revolution. In his eye-opening new global history, John Keane gets to the heart of a complex, ever-evolving ideal – and suggests how we might keep it safe for future generations.