This history traces the development of democracy in Europe from its origins in ancient Greece up to the present day.

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• 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.