Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-294) and index.
Origins: democracy in the ancient Greek world --Democracy suppressed: the Roman republic and empire -- The early Middle Ages and the transition from feudalism to capitalism -- The English Revolution and parliamentary democracy -- The American Revolution and constitutional redefinition of democracy -- The revolutionary revival of democracy in France -- The revolutions of 1848-49 -- Capitalist expansion, globalisation and democratisation -- The Marxist critique of capitalism and representative democracy -- Precursors of socialist participatory democracy: the Paris Commune 1871 and Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917.