Representative democracy began in the Senate during the Roman Republic. There were several different forms of democracy in the Middle Ages, from the system of near oligarchy to the system of trying to implement complete democracy, including the parliamentary system in Iceland, the Italian city-state system in the Middle Ages, the parliamentary system in Ireland (Tuath) in the Middle Ages, the people's parliamentary system in Slavic countries (Veche) and the parliamentary system in Scandinavian countries. In addition, some people think that the sixteen countries of India (about 500 years ago) and the Iroquois Union of North America (about the 2nd century BC to the present) also have democratic principles or elements.
Britain was the first country in the Middle Ages to move towards a complete democratic system, and it was also the first country in the world to implement a democratic system. The Magna Carta limited the power of the king and laid the foundation of democracy. England produced its first elected parliament in 1265. Originally, only a small percentage of the population could vote, and the electoral system also had many shortcomings, such as the existence of a corrupt constituency. It is entirely up to the king to convene or dissolve parliament (usually when the king or queen needs funds). 1688 after the glorious revolution, England and Scotland in Britain became constitutional monarchy countries at the same time, and formally merged in 1707. Since then, the British Parliament has been held regularly, but it will still be influenced by the power of the monarch. During this period, the two-party system in which Whigs and Tories competed with each other also began to develop. With the development of the times, the power of Congress in decision-making and legislation has gradually increased. By the time of Queen Victoria, the monarch had become a figurehead.
The United States can be regarded as the first free and democratic country, with relatively loose restrictions on the right to vote (although there were still property and gender restrictions at the beginning, and there were slaves), and the US Constitution also guaranteed the rights and freedoms of the people.
A few years later, the French Revolution issued a declaration on human rights and citizenship, and a national assembly elected by men also appeared, but it only lasted for a short time. Before the late19th century, there were not many liberal and democratic countries, and most of them lasted for a short time. Many countries and regions claim that universal suffrage was first implemented. In the 20th century, there were several waves of "democratization", many of which were caused by war, revolution, decolonization and economic situation. The First World War and the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire led to the emergence of many new nation-states in Europe, most of which adopted nominal democracy. The rise of fascist movement, the appearance of Nazi Germany, Italian Mussolini, Spanish Francisco Franco and Portuguese salazar all greatly restricted the democratic development of 1930' s, making 1930' s known as "dictator era". The situation in most colonial countries remains unaffected.
The result of World War II reversed this trend in Western Europe. Germany and Japan, occupied by allied forces, succeeded in democratization and became theoretical models for political reform later. However, most eastern European countries were forced to become undemocratic satellites of the Soviet Union. After World War II, there was also a wave of decolonization, and most newly independent countries also adopted nominal democracy.
After World War II, most western democratic countries adopted a free market economy and developed a welfare state system, which reflected the general knowledge of their voters and political parties. In the1950s and1960s, western countries and * * * producing countries had quite high economic growth. By the 1960' s, most nation-states had nominally implemented democracy, but countries with the majority of the world's population still had only a false electoral system, and the democratic system was not fully implemented (especially in industrialized countries and former colonial countries).
In the next wave of democratization, real freedom and democracy have emerged in many countries. Some military dictatorships in South America were transformed into democratic systems in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many countries in East and South Asia also gradually democratized in the late 1980s. In the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, the economic stagnation in the1980s and the anger over the oppression of property rule led to the complete disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, and these countries also embarked on the process of democratization and liberalization. Among these emerging democracies, countries that are close to western Europe in culture and economy (such as Poland) often succeed in reform, and some countries become new members of the European Union. The wave of democratization also spread to some African countries in1990s, most notably South Africa.
At present, the number of countries practicing freedom and democracy is the largest in history, and it continues to grow. So many people speculate that this trend will continue until freedom and democracy become the universal standard of human society. This prediction became the theoretical core of Francis Fukuyama's "end of history".