This history traces the development of democracy in Europe from its origins in ancient Greece up to the present day.
- - Considers all the major watersheds in the development of democracy in modern Europe. - Describes the rediscovery of Ancient Greek political ideals by intellectuals at the end of the eighteenth century. - Examines the twenty-year crisis from 1789 to 1815, when the repercussions of revolution in France were felt across the European continent. - Explains how events in France led to the explosion of democratic movements between 1830 and 1848. - Compares the different manifestations of democracy within Eastern and Western Europe during the latter half of the nineteenth century. - Considers fascism and its consequences for democracy in Europe during the twentieth century. - Demonstrates how in the recent past democracy itself has become the object of ideological battles.