Democracy: A Narrative from Aristotle to Donald Trump

This essay describes the idea of democracy and its reception from the time of Aristotle to the present. The introductory section considers how the word democracy is used and misused today. It also draws a distinction between democracy as practiced with electoral validation and some forms of pseudo-democracy ‒ technocracy, juristocracy and (arguably) ethnocracy. This touches on issues of identity, nationalism, populism and the erosion of the nation state, which are dealt with as they arise in the following historical survey.

A separate section from the mainstream narrative examines the fate of democracy in the historical context of Central Europe, and especially since the establishment of the European Union.

The final part of the essay deals with the specific challenges facing democracies today, which are seen as necessarily fighting with one hand tied behind their backs in dealing with issues such as climate change, mass migration, the abuse of power by global business and the latest trahison des clercs represented by “critical theory” and “intersectionality”.

The annotated bibliography covers the sources quoted in the accompanying essay together with some other works that the student of Democracy will find useful.