Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
History of democracy, explained from its birth in Athens to the American and French Revolutions. What does democracy really mean? How many democracies have there been in history? How do democracies die? Let's explore!
★Support on Patreon: patreon.com/williamcfox
★Substack: williamcfox.substack.com
Social Media ▼
Twitter➜ @williamcfox
Instagram➜ @williamcfox
TikTok ➜ @williamcfox
Books:
Democracy Charles TillyDemocracy A History John DunnDemocracy A Life Paul CartledgeDemocracy A Short, Analytical History Roland N. StrombergThe Decline And Rise Of Democracy David StasavageThe Edinburgh Companion to the History of DemocracyThe Life and Death of Democracy John KeaneThe Shortest History of Democracy John KeaneDemocracy in Classical Athens Christopher Carey
The French Revolution and Human Rights Lynn Hunt
How Democracies Die Ziblatt, Levitsky
Twilight of Democracy Anne Applebaum
Additional Sources:
“1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Cabot, George - Wikisource, the Free Online Library.” Accessed November 11, 2025.
“A Peasant Democrat in the 1848 Revolution?” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Anderson, Greg. “Before Turannoi Were Tyrants: Rethinking a Chapter of Early Greek History.” Classical Antiquity 24, no. 2 (2005): 173–222.
“Between Democracy and Liberalism: Ludwig Bamberger’s Path.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“Carl Rudolf Löwstedt: The First Swedish Democrat?” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“Democracy or Popular Government? The Political Thought of Mihály Táncsics in the Vormärz.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Finlayson, James Gordon, and Dafydd Huw Rees. “Jürgen Habermas.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2023, edited by Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2023.
Flanagan, Borden. “Thucydides on Partisanship, Insurrection, and the Risks of Civil War.” April 3, 2025.
Graeber, David. “Hiding in Plain Sight.” Lapham’s Quarterly, 2020.
Hansen, Mogens. Counting of Votes, Athenian Style. n.d.
Accessed November 12, 2025.
“Jacobins, Republicans, and Democracy in Mainz.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“Malthe Conrad Bruun: A ‘Dangerous Democrat.’” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Martin, Brad. Herodotus, Politics and Athenian Democracy. n.d.
Olorunlana, Taiwo Justice. The History of Democracy: From Ancient Athens to Present–Day. 01, no. 07 (2024).
Olson, Kevin. “Deliberative Democracy.” In Jürgen Habermas: Key Concepts, edited by Barbara Fultner. Key Concepts. Acumen Publishing, 2011.
“Oxford Centre for Intellectual History: Re-Imagining Democracy and Everyday Life Blog.” Re-Imagining Democracy, September 9, 2024.
“Searching for ‘Demokratin’? The Curious Case of Women Democrats in Early Nineteenth-Century Germany.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Staats, Joseph L. “Habermas and Democratic Theory: The Threat to Democracy of Unchecked Corporate Power.” Political Research Quarterly 57, no. 4 (2004): 585–94.
“The Anti-Elitist Democrat, Jens Andersen Hansen.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“What Did It Mean to Be a Democrat in the Age of Revolutions?” Accessed October 31, 2025.
YaleCourses, dir. Lecture 11: Democracy’s Fourth Wave? South Africa, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East. 2019.
YaleCourses, dir. Lecture 12: Business and Democratic Reform: A Case Study of South Africa. 2019.
00:00-00:37 intro
00:38-2:10:18 Athens
2:10:19-2:36:03 early democracy & Aristotle
2:36:04-2:41:58 Spartan Constitution
2:41:59-2:47:57 Rome’s Constitution
2:47:58-2:59:11 day 2
2:59:12-3:21:05 Cortes, early representation
3:21:06-3:37:06 republic vs democracy
3:37:07-3:45:26 American Revolution
3:45:27-4:04:38 French Revolution
4:04:39-4:21:30 How democracy dies
4:21:31-4:37:51 What is democracy?
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images.
History of democracy, explained from its birth in Athens to the American and French Revolutions. What does democracy really mean? How many democracies have there been in history? How do democracies die? Let's explore!
★Support on Patreon: patreon.com/williamcfox
★Substack: williamcfox.substack.com
Social Media ▼
Twitter➜ @williamcfox
Instagram➜ @williamcfox
TikTok ➜ @williamcfox
Books:
Democracy Charles TillyDemocracy A History John DunnDemocracy A Life Paul CartledgeDemocracy A Short, Analytical History Roland N. StrombergThe Decline And Rise Of Democracy David StasavageThe Edinburgh Companion to the History of DemocracyThe Life and Death of Democracy John KeaneThe Shortest History of Democracy John KeaneDemocracy in Classical Athens Christopher Carey
The French Revolution and Human Rights Lynn Hunt
How Democracies Die Ziblatt, Levitsky
Twilight of Democracy Anne Applebaum
Additional Sources:
“1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Cabot, George - Wikisource, the Free Online Library.” Accessed November 11, 2025.
“A Peasant Democrat in the 1848 Revolution?” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Anderson, Greg. “Before Turannoi Were Tyrants: Rethinking a Chapter of Early Greek History.” Classical Antiquity 24, no. 2 (2005): 173–222.
“Between Democracy and Liberalism: Ludwig Bamberger’s Path.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“Carl Rudolf Löwstedt: The First Swedish Democrat?” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“Democracy or Popular Government? The Political Thought of Mihály Táncsics in the Vormärz.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Finlayson, James Gordon, and Dafydd Huw Rees. “Jürgen Habermas.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2023, edited by Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2023.
Flanagan, Borden. “Thucydides on Partisanship, Insurrection, and the Risks of Civil War.” April 3, 2025.
Graeber, David. “Hiding in Plain Sight.” Lapham’s Quarterly, 2020.
Hansen, Mogens. Counting of Votes, Athenian Style. n.d.
Accessed November 12, 2025.
“Jacobins, Republicans, and Democracy in Mainz.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“Malthe Conrad Bruun: A ‘Dangerous Democrat.’” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Martin, Brad. Herodotus, Politics and Athenian Democracy. n.d.
Olorunlana, Taiwo Justice. The History of Democracy: From Ancient Athens to Present–Day. 01, no. 07 (2024).
Olson, Kevin. “Deliberative Democracy.” In Jürgen Habermas: Key Concepts, edited by Barbara Fultner. Key Concepts. Acumen Publishing, 2011.
“Oxford Centre for Intellectual History: Re-Imagining Democracy and Everyday Life Blog.” Re-Imagining Democracy, September 9, 2024.
“Searching for ‘Demokratin’? The Curious Case of Women Democrats in Early Nineteenth-Century Germany.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
Staats, Joseph L. “Habermas and Democratic Theory: The Threat to Democracy of Unchecked Corporate Power.” Political Research Quarterly 57, no. 4 (2004): 585–94.
“The Anti-Elitist Democrat, Jens Andersen Hansen.” Accessed October 31, 2025.
“What Did It Mean to Be a Democrat in the Age of Revolutions?” Accessed October 31, 2025.
YaleCourses, dir. Lecture 11: Democracy’s Fourth Wave? South Africa, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East. 2019.
YaleCourses, dir. Lecture 12: Business and Democratic Reform: A Case Study of South Africa. 2019.
00:00-00:37 intro
00:38-2:10:18 Athens
2:10:19-2:36:03 early democracy & Aristotle
2:36:04-2:41:58 Spartan Constitution
2:41:59-2:47:57 Rome’s Constitution
2:47:58-2:59:11 day 2
2:59:12-3:21:05 Cortes, early representation
3:21:06-3:37:06 republic vs democracy
3:37:07-3:45:26 American Revolution
3:45:27-4:04:38 French Revolution
4:04:39-4:21:30 How democracy dies
4:21:31-4:37:51 What is democracy?
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images.
