"This book explores the intriguing idea that there is much more democracy in human history than is generally acknowledged. It establishes that democracy was developing across greater Asia before classical Athens, clung on during the 'Dark Ages', often formed part of indigenous governance and is developing today in unexpected ways"--

Could democracy have a "secret" history? Most of us are familiar with a history of democracy that emphasizes the keystone moments in the story of Western civilization: the achievements of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the more recent development of the British parliament, the American Declaration of Independence and the French Revolution, and the gradual global spread of democracy since the end of the Cold War. The central argument of this book is that there is much more to the history of democracy than this standard history admits. There is a whole "secret" history, too big, complex and insufficiently 'Western' in character to be included in common accounts.
In exploring The Secret History of Democracy, the contributors establish that democracy was developing in the Middle East, India and China before classical Athens, clung on during the "Dark Ages" in Islam, Iceland and Venice, was often part of tribal life in Africa, North America and Australia, and has developed in unexpected ways through the grassroots activism of Muslims, feminists and technophiles.

This book re examines the history of democracy, broadening the traditional view with previously unexplored examples. This substantial reference work critically examines the history of democracy, from ancient history to the directions it might take in the future. Over the course of 42 chapters, it explores the full breadth of the origins of democracy and expands the canon of democratic history by exploring new - and sometimes surprising - examples from around the world. Split into 9 parts, each part contains an introduction to the period followed by three to five case studies of specific governments or political movements. This is the first book to study lesser known histories of democracy alongside familiar examples. It includes historical accounts from leading scholars that document the development of democratic practices in their area or epoch of interest. Contributors include Jack Goody, John Keane, Larbi Sadiki, James Anderson, John Fisher and Seymour Drescher. Examples include ancient India, medieval Venetia, Native America, Iraqis, ancient Athens, Women's Suffrage and the Anti Apartheid movement.

This book explores the intriguing idea that there is much more democracy in human history than is generally acknowledged. It establishes that democracy was developing across greater Asia before classical Athens, clung on during the 'Dark Ages', often formed part of indigenous governance and is developing today in unexpected ways.

In moving beyond the dichotomy between representative and participatory models of democracy, contemporary democratic theory has drawn out the crucial role of deliberation in the effective operation of democratic institutions. However, while deliberation is applied to democratic effect in interpersonal relationships, new social movements, international negotiations and so on, there appears to be a hesitation in theorizing the means to improve the deliberative functions of existing representative institutions. This book argues that despite the many limitations of representative democracy, and of the mass media which act as its key deliberative forum, current models of representative democracy still offer formal and practical opportunities for collective deliberation in rhetorical exchanges among citizens, particularly, but by no means exclusively, in the course of election campaigns.

This book re-examines the history of democracy, broadening the traditional view with previously unexplored examples. This substantial reference work critically examines the history of democracy, from ancient history to the directions it might take in the future. Over the course of 42 chapters, it explores the full breadth of the origins of democracy and expands the canon of democratic history by exploring new - and sometimes surprising - examples from around the world. Split into 9 parts, each part contains an introduction to the period followed by three to five case studies of specific governments or political movements. This is the first book to study lesser-known histories of democracy, and looks again at familiar examples. It includes historical accounts from leading scholars that document the development of democratic practices in their area or epoch of interest.