The history of the idea of democracy is curious, the history of democracies is puzzling.

There are two striking historical facts. First, political leaders of extraordinarily diverse views profess to
be democrats. Political regimes of all kinds describe themselves as democracies. Yet what these regimes
say and do is often substantially different from one to another throughout the world. Democracy
appears to legitimate modern political life: rule-making and law enforcement seem justified and
appropriate when they are 'democratic'. But it has not always been so. From ancient Greece to the
present day the majority of political thinkers have been highly critical of the theory and practice of
democracy. A general commitment to democracy is a very recent phenomenon.

Second, while many states today may be democratic, the history of their political institutions reveals the
fragility and vulnerability of democratic arrangements. The history of the twentieth-century Europe
alone makes clear that democracy is remarkably difficult form of government to create and sustain:
fascism and Nazism came very close to eradicating it all together. Democracy has evolved through
intensive social struggles and is frequently sacrificed in such struggles.