This short book, of about 25,000 words, spells out the basic characteristics of modern-day democracy, its origins, its history, its current practice and problems, and its potential future.

Table of Contents

• 1 Introduction: Why should we care about democracy?
• 2 What do we mean by ‘democracy’?
• 3 Where did democracy come from? Forms of government
• 4 Where else did democracy come from? The rule of law, the state and civil society
• 5 Where has democracy got to lately? Community and diversity
• 6 How does democracy work?
• 7 How democratic are our democracies?
• 8 Can democracy work beyond the nation-state?
• 9 Is there a future for democracy?
• 10 Conclusion: Why we should care about democracy
• 100 Ideas
• Acknowledgements