Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- The word and the deed -- The place from where we started -- Republicanism and democracy -- Comme disait M. de Tocqueville -- Democracy and populism -- The conditions of modern democracy -- Democratic citizenship.

"This book is a short account of the history of the doctrine, practices, and institutions of democracy, from ancient Greece and Rome through the American, French, and Russian revolutions, and its varieties and conditions in the modern world. It argues that democracy is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for good government, and that ideas of the rule of law, and of human rights, and the claims and liberties of groups within society must often limit the will of democratic majorities."--BOOK JACKET.