Reaction, Revolution and Empire: The Nineteenth Century

This chapter tracks how the popular doctrines that emerged from the American and French revolutions developed across the nineteenth century. It opens by considering the negative standing of democracy at the end of the Napoleonic wars and attempts to construct a new international order at the Congress of Vienna. The order constructed at Vienna was able to endure for a century, but conservative attempts to re-establish monarchy based on principles of legitimacy were ultimately unsuccessful. Ongoing nationalist struggles and domestic unrest peaked in the revolutions of 1848, marked by an outburst of discussion over democracy. There was a growing perception in Europe that democracy – in one form or another – was somehow inevitable. The chapter concludes with the end of the nineteenth century, being a transitional moment for popular sovereignty and democracy: emergent, but still on the defensive.

Thucydidean Themes: Democracy in International Relations

This chapter explores existing scholarship on democracy in international relations, focusing primarily on the democratic peace research programme. The remainder of the chapter provides the theoretical and conceptual framework for the book. It identifies how conceptions of democracy have developed in relation to principles of sovereignty and legitimacy in international society. A conceptual history methodology is proposed, which is outlined by drawing on the work of Quentin Skinner and Reinhart Koselleck. The final part of the chapter uses Thucydides to draw out some key themes of the book.

From the Brink to ‘Triumph’: The Twentieth Century

This chapter focuses on the ‘long war’ between the competing ideologies of democracy, communism and fascism that defined the twentieth century. Only decades after World War One, democracy’s existence was threatened. The Allied countries would fight in democracy’s name, but it was a war for survival against the vicious imperialism of the Axis powers. The grand alliance between the democratic powers and the Soviet Union defeated fascism, but this was due in large part to force of numbers and the self-destructiveness of the Nazis. Contestation continued between the two remaining ideologies of democracy and communism until the end of the Cold War. In 1989 the ideological contestation that had defined so much of the twentieth century was replaced by a remarkable consensus around liberal democracy. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the liberal zeitgeist of the post-Cold War era.

The Wilsonian Revolution: World War One

This chapter looks at the First World War, which would decisively shape democracy’s rise in international politics. When the war commenced, it was fought for old-fashioned reasons, with little concern for democracy. This changed drastically in 1917, due to revolution in Russia and America’s entry into the war. The reframing of the conflict as one of democracy versus autocracy was facilitated by events in Russia, but it was Woodrow Wilson’s intervention that was crucial in thrusting democracy onto the international agenda. With the defeat of the Central Powers, popular sovereignty supplanted monarchy as the dominant form of state legitimacy. This also confirmed democracy’s remarkable ideational transformation into a normatively acceptable, and for many desirable, method of government. The final section of the chapter considers the attempts to build a new international order at Versailles and the role that democracy played in these plans.

The Crucible of Democracy: The French Revolution

This chapter considers the monumental French Revolution, when fundamental changes in the nature of international politics intersected with the modern appearance of democracy as a political force. The chapter examines in depth the way the concept of democracy was used and contested during the revolution, and how two conceptions of popular sovereignty emerged. These developments directly challenged an international society composed of monarchs, and ultimately manifested themselves in the revolutionary wars. Revolutionary changes within France are considered in reference to the international context of ancient regime Europe, arguing that France became both ‘behaviourally’ and ‘ontologically’ dangerous to the existing order.

Fear and Faith: The Founding of the United States

This chapter examines the ambiguous role played by democracy in America’s founding. The revolutionaries thinking was heavily shaped by classical interpretations of democracy, illustrated through a pre-history of the concept. The result was what may now seem like a rather odd arrangement: the attempt to base the United States on popular sovereignty and establish a government that was answerable to the people, while refusing to label it a democracy. The chapter explores how the founders sought to reconcile these contradictory aims through instituting a representative form of popular rule. While the founding of the United States did not significantly alter conceptions of democracy as a governmental form, popular sovereignty was asserted in a very powerful manner and in so doing, the Americans helped introduce a new, and revolutionary, conception of sovereignty into international society.

Introduction: Beyond the ‘End of History’

This chapter provides an introduction to the central arguments and themes of the book. It considers the standing of democracy following the end of the Cold War, noting that liberal democracy still remains ideationally in the ascent a quarter of a century later. It is suggested that there is a strong need to understand the history of democracy in order to comprehend the challenges and problems it currently faces. The historical approach the book takes is outlined, proposing that there is a need to explore democracy’s development in relation to the emergence of modern international society.

Conclusion: Democracy and Humility

The conclusion reflects on the contradictory position democracy finds itself in early in the twenty-first century: it remains without peer but there is a growing concern it is now in crisis. In this context, it is argued that a deeper recognition of the way democracy has developed – one that appreciates not only its strengths, but also its ambiguities and weaknesses – is necessary for dealing with the challenges it now faces. Returning to democracy’s past is a way of demystifying it, ridding ourselves of both simplistic platitudes and shallow scepticism, and instead allowing us to cultivate a more realistic appreciation of its strengths.